Choices
by TellMeInMyDreams
Summary: One night was all it took to change their lives. As Edward & Bella prepare to become unexpected parents, they soon realize things might be harder than they thought. Their choices are what will in the end determine what their future will turn out to be. With different things pulling them from all directions, will they be strong enough to fight for what they want?
1. Chapter One

A.N* I had a dream the other day and though it's stars weren't Edward and Bella, I thought of no better way to tell this new story than on here. I hope you enjoy. Please Favorite, Follow and Review. Thank you!*

Chapter One

"Come on Bella, you've been working 12 hour shifts for the past two weeks! Don't you think it's time you didn't have to worry about working in the morning? Especially since we'll be celebrating your birthday?" Jessica asked as I washed the dirty dishes in our sink.

"Jess I really can't, I need the money. I only have this semester off to try and save up for school. I don't want to be drowning in student loans after I'm done. I mean, can't we just hang out and watch movies or something? It'll be just as fun and I won't have to worry about missing work tomorrow. " I asked knowing that my response wouldn't cut it.

I turned around to look at her and she starred back at me with a look saying, seriously you can't ask for the day? I know you can Bella don't make that an excuse.

I sighed. "Fine! Fine. But just know I would rather be spending my birthday here at the apartment watching movies with my best friend. Now I need to call work and tell them I won't-"

"I already called and they said it was fine! They don't want you spreading your stomach flu around to the clients. Now come on let's get ready."

I rolled my eyes. Why just why was my friend like this?

——————

The music at this club was so loud it was giving me a headache. I wasn't by any means a party person. Even on my birthday this didn't become anymore fun.

This place wasn't me. It was all Jess. She was having the time of her life. I was just here, checking my phone every two minutes hoping I'd be able to go home already.

"Bella! Bella! That guy over there is totally staring at you." Jess yelled over to me while in the middle of lap dancing on a guy she had met 10 minutes prior.

I turned to look over in the direction she was nodding towards and felt myself lose my breath.

The most beautiful man I had ever seen was looking over in my direction, a drink in his hand, talking to a girl that was just as beautiful as him. He didn't seem to be paying too much attention to her, he seemed fixed on something in my direction.

Turning around to see what he was looking at I quickly realized it was the tall blonde dancing about five feet away from me. I turned back to look at Jess who was now making out with the guy she had previously been dancing on.

"No he's not. He's looking at the blonde over there." I said, a little more disappointed than I was wanting to sound.

Jessica wasn't paying attention though, she was too into the guy to listen to me.

I stood up and took out my phone and texted her, knowing she would see it later.

Don't feel good, I'm going to go home, be safe. -B

I started walking towards the direction of the entrance when I stopped dead in my tracks.

Mike Newton, the cheating liar of an ex boyfriend I had sadly been with for the last three years up until two months ago had just walked in with a girl. To make things worse, it was a girl I knew solely for the reason that I had walked in on them two having sex on our three year anniversary.

Quickly before he could see me, I made a sharp left and headed in the direction of the restrooms.

I walked in and waited for the girl drying her hands to leave before I walked over the the sink and looked at myself in the mirror.

I felt ridiculous. I was wearing a tight red satin dress that Jess had let me borrow (had made me wear actually) which was something completely opposite from what I would usually put on. My nude chunky heels were already killing me and I started to feel very stupid. Especially after that whole oh look that guy is totally staring at you situation earlier. A guy like him would never be interested in a girl like me.

This was starting to turn into the worst birthday ever.

I decided then and there I would make a run for it. Letting my hair fall in front of my face I walked, practically ran out of the restroom.

To make me feel even worse though, I bumped into someone the second I walked out and fell backwards. As I prepared myself for the worst and most embarrassing moment in my life I was surprised by the arm that caught me around the waist and safely picked me up, bringing me close to their chest.

I looked up and felt myself turn red. Standing in front of me was the handsome, green eyed guy who had been staring at the girl behind me earlier. Up close he was even more beautiful than i could have thought possible.

"Woah, you okay?" He asked in a voice that was just as mesmerizing.

"No-I mean yes, yes I'm alright. Thank you." I said as I pushed myself away from him. I looked over his shoulder to find Mike heading in our direction.

"Crap. Um I have to go..." I said as walked backwards.

With me and heels not being the best of combinations, I tripped this time and he caught me again by the hand this time.

"Okay this is really embarrassing." I said turning red.

The guy laughed. "It happens. If you're trying to avoid someone, come on I'll help you leave out the back."

He held my hand as he took me through the halls and out a back door a guy seemed to be guarding.

"Hey Edward." The guy said as he opened the door leading outside.

Edward. What a perfect name for him.

Edward nodded at the guy and walked past him. The doors closed behind us and we stopped in the dark alley.

"Thank you." I told him as I let go of his hand.

"No problem. I needed a good excuse to leave. I'm Edward by the way." He said.

"Same here. I'm Isabella, but everyone just calls me Bella." I told him.

I started walking towards the end of the alley that opened up to the street. I was a little surprised when I heard him following behind me.

"So are you heading home?" He asked me as he caught up to me. I stopped as we reached the sidewalk and watched Jess drunkenly tell our apartment address to a cab driver, the man she had been making out with holding her around the waist.

I sighed.

"Well I was up until right now when my roommate got into that cab right over there and gave the driver our address. Now I think I'm going to just head over to a diner near by and waste some time. It's still my birthday, I think I deserve a slice of cake or something to help this not become the worst birthday ever." I said as I wrapped my arms around my chest.

"Oh. Is it alright if I join you?" He asked me. I looked at him a bit flustered. I felt myself turning red again. Was this pity company he was trying to give me?

"Really? I mean, sure, if you'd like." I said, not being able to hide the surprise in my voice.

"I'd really like to. If it's all good with you?" He said carefully. He seemed to be a bit shy. But I was sure I was imagining things. Guys like this didn't get shy. Especially because of beyond average girls like me.

I smiled. "It's all good with me."

We began walking, with me leading the way.

"So, are you a local?" He asked me after walking half a block in silence. It wasn't by any means awkward. I just enjoyed silence and it seemed like he did, too.

"No, I'm not. I'm from a little town close to Seattle. School brought me here actually." I told him.

"Oh really? Where are you going?" He asked me.

"CUNY. It's what I can afford for now. I got accepted into NYU back when I was in high school but it was too expensive. So I thought I'd at least come over here and then see where the future would lead me." I told him honestly. It was so strange to open up to someone so easily but with him it just felt right.

"Have you came here before?" I asked him as we entered Louie's Diner. It was one of my favorites and a place I came to a lot since I first moved to New York City.

"No. I haven't been in the city for too long so I haven't had much time to explore it." He said as we took our seats across each other in a booth at the very back of the diner.

I shivered as my thighs touched the cold seat. Stupid dress. I thought as I tried inconspicuously pulling it down.

"Here, it's a bit chilly." Edward told me, taking off his jacket and handing it over to me.

"Oh no it's okay, I'm alright." I told him pushing his hand back.

He shook his head. "Bella please. I don't mind."

He waited for me to grab it, not taking no for an answer.

I thanked him as I put it on. It was warm, and the smell was just indescribable. I never wanted to take it off.

"Welcome to Louie's diner, what can I get you?" The waitress said, speaking mostly to Edward.

"Hey aren't you that guy from that movie that's coming out next month or something?" She asked him.

He shook his head. "No, I keep on getting that a lot though. Bella, what did you want to eat?"

She turned to look at me reluctantly eyeing me up and down.

She was probably thinking the same thing I was, what the hell was a hot as guy like him doing with a boring ass girl like me?

"I'll have a coffee and a slice of marble cake please. What about you?" I asked Edward.

"I'll have the same."

She nodded and walked away disappointed when she realized Edward wasn't going to look at her. He was staring intently at me, which made me turn scarlet once again.

He chuckled. "You seem to turn red every two minutes since we've met. Is that normal or should I be worried?"

Oh, there I went again.

"It's normal, every little thing sets me off. Especially when I'm flustered. I've been feeling that a lot around you right now."

Great, under two minutes this time. I told myself as I turned into a tomato.

I let my hair form a curtain on one side of my face while covering my other side with my hand.

Leaning forward, he moved my hair gently to behind my ear.

I looked at him and he gave me a soft smile.

"You don't have to hide, it's cute." He said.

I felt my heart skip a beat.

"Here's the coffee. We only had one slice of marble cake," The waitress said as she sat the plate down in front of Edward. "Is there another flavor you might like?"

I was about to say no that that was fine when Edward pushed the slice towards me.

"Maybe just an extra spoon please." Edward said, glancing at her and then looking back at me.

She sighed as she left the extra spoon and walked away.

Quickly standing up, Edward came over to sit by me, scooting in close to my side. He picked up the spoon and handed it to me.

"Happy Birthday Bella." He said.

I smiled as I grabbed the spoon from him.

"Thank you." I said, taking a bite out of the cake. It was delicious. Sliding the cake towards him, he picked up the other spoon and took a bite as well.

When it seemed like this birthday would finally turn around and become a great one, I looked out the window and tensed up.

Walking towards the diners direction was Mike and the girl he cheated on me with.

"Just as the day was getting better." I said as I turned directly to face Edward.

He looked down at me confused. "What is it?"

"So at 1 Oak I was trying to avoid my ex boyfriend who cheated on me anddd right now the girl he cheated on me with and him are for sure going to walk in here."

I looked towards the door and sure enough they were right outside eyeing the menu that was taped up to the glass.

"Ugh it's too late to leave. If only they would just keep on walking. Oh no I think he saw me." I turned back to look at Edward.

He seemed to be thinking about something very intensely. Shrugging, he put his hand under my chin and lifted it up.

"If you don't want to I'll stop. But maybe this will help." He said as he brought my lips to his.

For a second I had forgotten how to breathe. The moment his lips touch mine, I felt myself melt into him. His hand somehow ended up around my waist and he pulled me closer.

It was a nice sentiment letting me know I could stop him if I wanted too. But as I wrapped my arms around his neck, I knew there was no stopping me.

Gently, he pulled me away while we both caught our breath.

"They're gone. They walked in but walked right back out." Edward said out of breath.

"Oh?" Was all I could manage to say. For a second I had forgotten why I was kissing the beautiful man in front of me.

"That was..." Edward said not knowing what to say. Now he was the one who was flustered.

"Yeah." I said trying to control myself.

"Do you want to...?"

"Yeah."

Quickly, we asked for the check.

After that I didn't remember much. Not how we got in the cab, nor how we got to his place. Less how we made it to his bedroom.

All I knew was that night was one of the greatest nights of my life.

But little did I know how much this day would change my life.


	2. Chapter Two

A.N.* I've been really inspired to write lately. So here's the second chapter! I've got the third almost done but depending on how this one does I'll post! I hope you guys enjoy! As always, please don't forget to REVIEW, FAVORITE FOLLOW. The more activity I see the chapters getting the more excited I get and the faster I want to put something good out for y'all! See you guys soon!*

Chapter Two

I was an early bird. I was always up super early, especially because of school and work.

But today I could tell I had woken up late because of how bright the sun was shining through my window, even with my eyes closed.

I turned around and snuggled into my sheets when it hit me that I wasn't in my sheets. The first thing that made me realize this was that my bedroom window was facing another building which blocked the sun so the most light I got in the mornings was the artificial light from my lamp. Second, the bedsheets were way too nice. I was a poor college student. I could never afford such luxuries.

Opening one eye slowly then the other, I remembered where I was right away.

Oh God.

As I looked around the room I realized I was alone. Sitting up, I found the little amount of clothes I had folded neatly on the bench under his jacket at the end of the bed. Quickly putting everything on, I looked for my shoes only to realize they weren't in the room.

Quietly opening the door, I walked out and tried retracing my steps to the front entrance.

I went down a flight of stairs and stopped dead in my tracks when turned to my right and saw Edward standing with his back towards me cooking. He had two plates on the counter and whatever he was cooking smelled delicious.

For some reason though, as much as I wanted too, I couldn't get myself to go towards him. I didn't understand why but I found myself quietly going walking towards the left and down a small hallway where my shoes were.

Quickly grabbing them, I reached for the door handle but paused.

Was this supposed to be this hard. I asked myself. Sighing softly I opened the door and quietly walked out. Closing the door behind me, I made sure to go down three flights of stairs before pausing and putting my shoes on.

I continued down putting my hands in the pockets of Edward's jacket, hoping he wouldn't mind that I borrowed it. I'd return it eventually. Maybe.

-Seven Weeks Later.-

"STAND CLEAR OF THE CLOSING DOORS PLEASE."

I opened my eyes just long enough to quickly jump into the subway cart before the doors closed. Grabbing onto the pole, I closed my eyes again knowing I just had to count five stops and jump off.

I usually loved riding the subway. But lately, it was a constant reminder of the one and only one night stand I had ever and would ever have.

This is why you shouldn't do things without getting to know the person. Who knew that the guy I had had the most incredible and I really mean incredible sex of my entire existence would turn out to be one of the most famous actors of the moment?

"Chances" starring Edward Cullen and Tanya Denali was all anyone could talk about.

It had just premiered a week ago yet the talk was only getting bigger. There were even talks about it being in the running to win major awards during award season.

Up until a month ago I didn't have a clue about how big the guy I had slept with was until Jess showed me the trailer for a movie she really wanted to see.

I wasn't the biggest fan of romantic movies yet, she said this one would change my mind about romance. The second I saw his face though, I puked the little amount of food I had in my body.

Now, every time I saw the trailer playing in Time Square while on my way to work, or the movie posters hanging all over the subway, I wanted to puke.

I tried my hardest to ignore it all but the more I tried the more it seemed to become unavoidable.

"No Chels, we're just going to go to Central Park. We couldn't get tickets to see Chances before six so we're just going to hang out over there. Yeah, this would be my second time seeing it and Trisha's first. But it's so good that Edward guy just kills me!"

I opened my eyes as and walked out the subway two stops early. I would rather walk.

I felt like this was the universes way of punishing me.

I mean it had a point. I had the most amazing sex in my life with a man I didn't even know and then left him without saying a word as he was cooking breakfast for us. That was a low, even for me and the universe knew it.

My phone rang as I walked up the stairs and stepped onto the street.

"Hey Jess I was on the subway."

"I've been calling you for twenty minutes! I got us two tickets for tonight at seven. We're watching the movie wether you like it or not so if you want to continue being my friend I'll meet you at the Union Square theater. Bye!"

I put my phone away and looked up at the sky. Yes, the universe really was messing with me.

———————

I waited for Jess on the outside of the theatre for fifteen minutes before she finally showed up.

"You're late." I told her as we walked inside.

"Bella, everyone knows that it's just a bunch of commercials the first few minutes."

We gave our tickets and got in line to get a bag of popcorn for Jess. Lately, I hadn't been feeling too well so I wasn't really in the mood to eat anything.

"I heard that Edward Cullen and Tanya Denali were dating. Do you think they are? I mean the chemistry is all there. Just by looking at the trailer you want to be kissed by a man in that way. There's no way they aren't dating."

"I guess Jess." I said. I really didn't want to be here. The longer I was here the worse I felt and Jessica's 'Edward and Tanya' talk wasn't making me feel better.

By the time we got to our seats, the movie was already a couple of minutes in.

I sat down, looking down at Jessica's popcorn. It looked so good but I didn't feel good at all.

Thinking one couldn't hurt I popped it in my mouth as I looked up at the screen to find Edward staring at what felt like only me.

"He's so hot! I can't deal!" Jessica squealed at me.

Right away, I had the urge to puke.

Barley managing an I'll be back to Jess, I jumped out my seat and sped walk to the restroom. Quickly opening the stall door, I threw up all my stomachs contents.

When I was finally done, I went to the restroom sink and rinsed my mouth. As I grabbed a paper towel to clean the sweat off my face I quickly spun around at the box hanging in the wall.

25 tampon

25 pads

My eyes widened. I couldn't be. I couldn't be. I was late. Really late. I usually had really regular periods, but because of work being busier than usual, I hadn't thought about how I had missed my period.

Completely forgetting the reason why I was the movies to begin with I sped walk out of there and walked to the nearest Walgreens up the block.

"Excuse me where do you guys have your pregnancy test?" I asked the girl at the counter.

"Isle six, right across the baby stuff." She said without looking up at me.

I walked to the isle and picked up two boxes that totaled to four pregnancy test.

As I went to pay, I looked around for the restroom.

"Your total is $19.23."

Handing her a $20, I walked away and into the restroom.

I peed on the sticks, a bit in shock in what I was doing.

As I waited what seemed to be the longest three minutes of my life, I thought about how crazy of a situation I was in.

My alarm went off letting me know three and a half minutes had passed. With my eyes still closed I flipped the test over one by one.

Slowly I opened my eyes and felt my heart drop.

Pregnant

Pregnant

Pregnant

Pregnant

I stared at the test for a couple of minutes until the knock at the door brought me back to reality. Throwing them in my bag, I quickly went to wash my hands.

"Sorry." I mumbled as I passed two girls waiting on the other side of the door.

I began speed walking once again to the theatre with each step feeling heavier and heavier, the weight in my bag making things worse.

"Hey Jess, I got to go. I think I really have a stomach flu this time." I whispered to Jess who was really into the movie.

"What no!" You've already missed like half of the movie!" She whispered-yelled at me.

"We'll come back and watch it another day. I just really need to get back, I don't feel good at all." I told her, knowing I would never come back to watch the movie.

"Fine. See you later." She mumbled.

I kept my head down as I exited the movie theatre and made my way home.

When I arrived I walked directly into my room and locked the door behind me. Taking the four pregnancy test out, I laid them out in front of me.

I wrapped my arms around my legs and brought them up. Burying my face in my knees, I began trying not to freak out.

Since I was living in Forks, Washington with my dad Charlie, I had set up a plan on what I wanted to do in life.

Move to New York City.

Find a job.

Apply to CUNY.

Graduate.

Work some more.

Apply to a NYU or Columbia's graduate program.

Graduate.

Get married.

Have kids.

Having kids was number nine. Yet here I was with it being bumped up to number three and a half.

What the hell was I going to do?

I looked over at the jacket that had been hanging from the side of my mirror that I had meant to return to Edward. Work had put me off from doing that and then the day I had finally decided to go, Jess showed me who Edward actually was and I almost died from shame.

Now it was even worse.

I stood up contemplating what I was going to do.

Thinking impulsively, I grabbed the jacket, my umbrella, my own jacket and headed out the door.

It had began to rain since I was in doors and it was starting to get dark.

I rode the subway the ten stops to his place and got off.

As I came to a stop in front of his building I stood on the outside afraid to go in.

Every action I kept on making was making me all of this more and more real and the realer it became the more terrified I was.

Sighing, I walked towards the building door and put in the code I remember him punching into the keypad all those nights ago.

The door buzzed as it unlocked itself and I quickly walked into the dry hallway. Pressing the up button on the elevator, I waited for it to open and stepped in. I pushed the button for number twenty, and watched the doors close.

What was I even doing here? I asked myself as the elevator went up way too fast.

I didn't even know what I would say.

Would he even remember me? Was I doing the wrong thing? Should I even tell him? I had so many unanswered questions, yet the elevator had got me to the floor and right to his door so I would either get answers or leave with more questions.

I knocked once, and right away the door opened.

I lost my breath once again as I saw Edward looking at me confused.

"Hi." I said, forgetting for a second what I was doing there.

"What are you doing here Bella?" He said sounding surprised.

"I uh, I came to drop this off." I told him as a stretched out my hand and handed him his jacket.

He took it but this time he looked a bit annoyed.

"I'm sorry, I wanted to drop it off a while ago but then I figured out who you were and..." and I almost died of embarrassment. I wanted to end my sentence.

"And what? You wanted to see how much money you could make off it by selling it?" He asked, taking me aback.

What the hell?

"Excuse me?" I said in disbelief.

"You heard me. I'm not going to let you in by the way if that's what you were wanting. How much did they pay you for that exclusive on my home? Because of you people keep on constantly waiting outside of here with cameras. I'm going to have to move out because of you. I barley know you but you didn't seem like the type to be a sellout. Answer me this, did you know who I was before I met you? Had you planned this all out?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I felt myself yell at him. I was annoyed with myself, especially for being stupid enough to come here.

"Honestly I don't care who the hell you are. I really don't. I had wanted to come drop off your jacket until I found out who you were and almost died of embarrassment. I had completely forgotten about you until today..." I said with tears in my eyes. I hated that I cried when I was mad.

The last part was a lie but he didn't need to know that.

"I'm pregnant, Edward. And before you even think about calling me liar and that I'm only here because you're famous or whatever, I can guarantee I've never had sex with anyone but you and I would never lie about something like this,"

"In the end it doesn't matter. You just showed me the type of person you think I am and what kind of person you actually are. This is now on me and now whatever I decide I'm 100 percent sure I don't need a cockney jackass like you in my life. I really shouldn't have came here..." I quickly turned around to avoid looking at his shocked face. I pressed the elevator button, the tears falling down my face uncontrollably.

Two seconds after I pressed the button, the doors opened and I stepped in. I turned around and glanced at Edward quickly who was still standing at the door in shock.

"Goodbye, Edward." I said curtly as I pressed the first floor button.

As the doors closed, Edward seemed to thaw out and look at my direction.

"Bella wait." He said reaching for the elevator.

I ignored him as the doors shut and the elevator went down.

I felt the tears still going down my eyes and felt so defeated.

What was I going to do now?


	3. Chapter Three

*A.N* Thank you all for such an awesome response on the last chapter! It made me so happy seeing what y'all thought. Because of that I decided to upload this chapter a little earlier than I was going too! I hope you keep on enjoying. As always, please do not forget to **REVIEW, FAVORITE, & FOLLOW! **

**Thank You.***

Chapter Three

As I walked out of the building I turned to look at the row of paparazzi standing outside of it that I hadn't noticed before. They were so quiet which made sense since there was no celebrity to photograph and call out to at the moment.

Quickly, I walked in the opposite direction, wanting to avoid being seen by eight or ten so paps crying.

_You're so stupid, _I thought to myself_. Why would they even care about a beyond average girl like me? _

Average. Ordinary. Nothing special. That, that I was.

I still couldn't understand how I had so stupidly put myself in this situation. Especially because this wasn't _me_.

I would understand someone like Jessica, and I meant this with no offense to her, getting knocked up by a celebrity (ugh, even the word _celebrity _was causing me to feel queasy). She was beautiful, outgoing and a fan of being the center of attention, she'd be happy getting knocked up if it meant she would get married and live a worry free life even if there was a divorce. She told me stories about all the famous New Yorkers she had dated, sometimes even ending up on a tabloid or two as the mysterious girl only to be forgotten the next day.

Me on the other hand... I was the complete opposite. I hated being the center of attention. It made me feel uncomfortable. I wasn't one to party, I didn't really speak to anyone outside of Jess. I didn't sleep with people I didn't know. Scratch that. I had n_ever_ slept with anyone till Edward.

So how this was currently my life... I didn't understand. I must have done something to piss off the universe, that much I knew.

—

"Order for Bella!" The barista called out.

I yawned as I mumbled out a thank you and grabbed my coffee and bagel.

I walked out of the cafe and shivered as the cold air from outside hit me.

Last night I had gotten no sleep. I just kept on tossing and turning thinking about the fact that I was pregnant. About the way Edward had acted. Thinking again for the millionth time about how my stupid life choices had got me into the situation I was in.

Today was an odd but good day that I didn't have to work. So, on days like this I liked to explore the island of Manhattan. I got on random subways leading me who knows where and would eventually find my way back. Today, it had been a short subway ride since I was almost falling asleep by stop two.

As soon as I had came up from the subway I hadn't stopped walking straight so, when I hit Central Park, I knew I had been walking aimlessly for a good while. I entered, going down a new path I didn't really recognize. When the noise of the city finally drifted away, I found a bench and sat down.

Setting my coffee and my half eaten bagel down next to me, I took out my phone and went on Google Search and typed in _OBGYN_ clicking on the first office that popped up with good reviews that was also near where I lived.

Clicking on the number listed, I dialed and waited for someone to answer.

"Hello, you've reached Dr. Sandra Bradley's office, how may I help you?"

"I just found out that I-I'm pregnant and well...I wanted to book an appointment, I guess?" I asked more than said.

"Yes of course. How many weeks did you say you were?" She asked me cheerily, completely ignoring the fact that I was so unsure of what I was doing.

"Um, I'm positive I'm around seven weeks closer to eight."

"Okay, well we don't usually book until after eight weeks but Dr. Bradley is going to be out of town for the next three weeks after next week. I usually wouldn't have anything available so soon but I did have one cancellation next week on the thirteenth at eight in in the morning. How does that sound?" The woman asked.

"That'll be great thank you. Oh and um, I also had a question, around how much should I expect to pay...I don't have insurance or anything so it'd be out of pocket." I asked her.

"Oh, um it really depends. But usually the first visit is close to five hundred... would you still like to book?"

I felt my eyes widen a bit. "Oh yes, please."

I spent a few more minutes on the phone giving her my information.

After hanging up, I get myself start to panic. Five hundred dollars. That was making me regret wasting eight dollars at the cafe earlier. Between this and saving up for school I didn't know how I was going to do it.

No matter what though, I knew I was going to go to the appointment. I just had less thank a week to save a decent amount of money to pay for it all.

—-

"First your calling in sick with the stomach flu. Then you tell me you can't come in Wednesday. Now you're telling me you need more hours? What else are you ganna ask for Bells?" Ronnie, my boss asked. He was the owner of Broadway's Fav a popular restaurant amongst tourist and the place I had been working at since I moved to the city. Honestly, it was awesome working here up until Ronnie's father, and original owner of BF's had passed away four months ago. Now it sucked working here, but it paid the bills...most of the time.

"Ronnie, the stomach flu thing was almost two months ago, and I haven't missed a day since. I have a doctors appointment Wednesday, and well, it's not going to be cheap so I-''

"Are you dying?" Ronnie asked, bored of the conversation.

"What? Um, n-no I'm not dying, but-''

"Well then you don't need extra hours. You're good with the ones you have unless you want me to give you less. Be glad I'm still letting you take Wednesday off. You got it?" Ronnie said.

I nodded my head.

"Good, now make sure you clean the counters after you're done refilling the napkin holders."

I nodded without looking up. It had been two days since I had scheduled my appointment and was more stressed out about it than before. Ronnie wasn't known for budging so I knew trying again would be useless and only make things worse.

As I filled up the three napkin dispenser I paused to take a deep breath. I didn't know if it was the pregnancy or just that I was angry, but I could feel tears starting to form in my eyes. If I knew one thing about Ronnie it was that he didn't like criers. That last girl that cried over burning herself with a hot plate had been fired on the spot and she had been here longer than me.

Quickly turning around, I looked up just long enough to survey the restaurant and check where Ronnie was. It was pretty empty for a Thursday morning. We only had a couple in a booth at one end of the restaurant and a man sitting at the end of the counter who seemed to be looking down at his phone since he got here. Ronnie was luckily no where in sight.

Still, not wanting to risk it, I pushed back the bag of napkins that we kept on top of the cake fridge and looked up, pretending to be struggling to reach. This did help my tears stay in my eyes, but the big globs of water were making my vision blurry. Grabbing a hold of the bag I had been able to reach the whole time I "accidentally" dropped on the floor.

Bending down to pick it up I quickly dabbed my eyes with a napkin, hiding any evidence that there were tears in my eyes.

I knew I was going a little overboard with the theatrics but if Ronnie later checked the cameras he would for sure not be able to tell me nothing.

"Bella?" Angela, the other waitress said from behind me.

Standing up quickly I turned to look at her with a small smile.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"The guy at the end of the counter wants you to take his order. He said he's your regular." She shrugged.

Just then a group of four walked in.

"Okay, you go get the people who just walked in." I told her.

I walked towards the man with a menu. Placing it in front of him I began speaking as he looked up.

"Good morning, welcome to Broadway's Fav, I'm Bel-what the hell are you doing here?" I semi whispered.

Even with his sunglasses on I recognized him right away.

"You left a pen with the name of this place in the jacket you left the other day. I came yesterday but you had already left but they said you worked today so-Bella wait please." He said as I turned around to walk away.

Just as I was going to walk to Angela and ask her to trade back, Ronnie came out of the kitchen. Panicking, I grabbed one of the napkin dispensers I had filled and turned around, slamming it on the counter, almost squishing one of Edward's finger but sadly missing.

"Oh I'm sorry sir. What may I get for you today?" I asked bluntly.

"Bella, I just want to talk. Please. I know I messed up but-''

"I'm sorry sir. None of our options are vegetarian or gluten free. There's a place down the street that might be more suited for you. Have a good day." I said cutting him off.

I could just barley see his beautiful green eyes behind the sunglasses yet they looked deeply frustrated. Being done with the conversation, I turned around to walk away when he gently grabbed my arm.

I looked down at his hand holding onto me and he quickly let go.

Looking back at him he stared back with pleading eyes.

"Bella, please. I'm sorry. Just give me a chance. Just one chance to talk to you right please." He said softly.

I just stared at him.

He sighed. "I'll be outside when-if you want to talk."

"My shift doesn't end till ten." I said curtly.

"I'll wait." He said.

I didn't say anything else, just walked away towards Ronnie.

"Why did you scare that customer off?" He asked looking up from his inventory check paper and at the door.

"I didn't. He thought we were an all vegetarian place a friend had told him about." I lied.

"Hm. Go clean up his area." Ronnie said clearly not interested.

I walked back to the end of the counter, and picked up the water Angela had left him and the menu I had left. Dropping what I assumed was a straw wrapper on the ground I reached down to grab it. Instead, I was shocked to pick up a fifty dollar bill. I felt myself turn red with anger.

Who the hell did he think I was?

—

"Night Bella." Angela said to me as I locked the front door.

"Goodnight." I said with a smile. Putting the restaurant keys in my pocket, I stood there for a minute thinking about what I was going to do.

The whole day after Edward had arrived I spent angry. Angry that he had left me fifty dollars. I knew I needed it but it felt like dirty money. Like if he was trying to buy me.

After a minute that seemed eternal I rolled my eyes. I knew he wouldn't have stayed.

Sighing, I grabbed the trash bag I had brought out through the front of the restaurant and went to leave it in the dumpster on the side of the building. As I walked back to the street I gasped as I almost bumped into a man.

"I'm sorry." I said quickly.

"No problem, sugar." The man said.

I nodded, a little freaked out and began to speed walk away.

I hated working so late at night, especially when creeps were around. The subway stop was three dark blocks down which made this time of night scarier.

I felt him walking behind me still as I neared the end of the first block.

Panicking I quickly turned left into an alley which if I turned right on twice around the small pizza shop I knew would take me back to the street leading to the subway stop.

Turning around I felt relieved to see he wasn't behind me anymore. Taking a deep breath, I went around the small building quietly.

As I was about to step back onto the street, the man was suddenly right in front of me, an evil grin on his face. I gasped, falling back against something that stung my arm.

"I know what game you're playing sugar. It's fun, but I'm bored now." The man said as he picked me up from the ground and pinned me up against the wall.

I managed a terrified half scream, before he closed my mouth with his dirty hand. He smiled as if me being scared fueled him.

"This is more like it." He said as he leaned towards me.

I closed my eyes and turned my head sideways to the wall, trying to keep as much distance as possible. Suddenly, there was a loud screech and he let me go. I quickly opened my eyes but I couldn't see though, the two lights next to us which I assumed were a cars headlights too bright.

The man quickly began to run down the alley.

"Bella, are you okay?" Edwards asked as he came rushing towards me.

Instantly, without even meaning to, I felt safe.

"I-I'm f-fine." I said, my voice showing how _fine_ I actually was.

"No you're not. You're bleeding." He said worried.

That's when I smelled it and felt it. There was blood dripping down my right arm. Instantly I felt light headed.

Grabbing a hold of the closest thing to me, which was Edward, I felt my knees give out and my eyes close. Luckily, he had caught me.

"Bella!" Edward said my name, sounding even more concerned than before.

"Okay...just blood." I shook my head. What I was trying to say was _I'm okay, it's just the blood. _

"You're alright...you just don't do well with blood?" He tried guessing.

I nodded weakly

.

"Okay. I'm going to put you in my car and take you to see my dad." Edward said.

_Dad? What did his dad have to do with anything? _

"No...blood..in your..car." I tried to feebly tell him.

Scooping me up he sighed.

"Bella I don't give a damn if there's blood in my car as long as you're..."

The rest I didn't get to hear.


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

I woke up to the sound of voices talking not too far from me.

I was about to get up from what I assumed was a couch when I heard my name and froze. Keeping my eyes closed, I listened.

"I messed up. I didn't say anything to you guys the day Bella went because I was so embarrassed with the way I reacted. It was the day after someone had leaked to the press so many things about me. They had photos of my home, they had my address...the second I looked out the window there was already a row of paparazzi waiting for me to come out. My home was my safe space and in that moment I felt my privacy had been violated and I was so frustrated. Bella arrived when I was feeling the worst and I snapped at her. I accused her of things that I shouldn't have," he sighed.

"Then, she told me she was...pregnant and it was mine and what did I do? I said nothing, I did nothing, I just _froze _like an idiot and she...left upset. Right after she left I got a call from my manager telling me the one who had given my information to the tabloids was a cleaning lady she had hired for me."

"Well honey, did you apologize at least?" A soft voice of a woman asked.

"I went after her right away to try but I couldn't find her anymore. She had gone to return my jacket though and in the pocket there was a pen for what I assumed was her workplace. I went to go ask for her and sure enough it was where she worked. She didn't want to speak to me, understandably so. But I told her I'd wait for her either way."

I furrowed my eyes brows. He didn't wait though, he wasn't there and I waited for him before I left.

"Finally they closed and I saw her walking outside but as I was getting out of the car her friend came up to me to thank me for the $50 I had left her though they were really for Bella and-"

"You left her $50 dollars? Oh I would be very mad if that was me. I'd feel like if you were trying to buy me or something. I know I haven't even properly met her but sweetheart, she doesn't seem like the type to be into that." The woman said cutting him off.

_Exactly, _I thought.

"Ugh mom, I keep on messing up with her and making things worse. I don't know why. I just-everything I do is putting me in a worse spot than before. I just want her to know that I'm actually really sorry. I want to start over with her. For our baby."

I opened my eyes. _Our baby. _The words kept on echoing in my head as my throat began to tighten. As angry as I had been, it was good hearing Edward recognize what he had done wrong even if it wasn't to me that he was speaking. If I was honest, I knew he wasn't a bad person. That much was easy to tell from the moment we first spoke. But, he did have bad qualities that peaked out at times.

"I've set up an appointment with my colleague Miriam Graves. She's one of the best OBGYN doctors in the city and works with me at the hospital. She can see her tomorrow morning if Bella wants to. It's her choice." Another man's voice said, making me jump.

Pretending to barely be waking up, I sat up and looked at my arm.

It wasn't as bad as I thought it was now that it was cleaned and wrapped.

"It took five stitches to close up, but you'll be fine. I'm Doctor Carlisle Cullen, Edward's dad. This is my wife, Esme." The man said as he walked over to me to shake my hand.

"It's very nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Cullen." I said as I carefully stood to greet them. I had to admit I was nervous. Though we weren't together together, this was my first time actually meeting a guys parents. Even after three years with my one and only boyfriend Mike, not once did I even meet a cousin.

"You can call us Esme and Carlisle, sweetie. It's really nice to meet you as well. I brought you some clothes if you'd like to change. They're a bit big but I think they should fit. You can change in Edward's room, will you show her where it is, honey?" Esme said with a sweet smile.

I could tell where Edward had gotten his looks from. His parents were incredibly good looking. His father, though blonde with blue eyes, had identical features as him. His bronze hair and strikingly beautiful green eyes came from his mother, there was no doubt about that.

"Oh thank you Mrs. Cullen-I mean Esme. I'm sorry if I got blood anywhere." I told her, feeling myself turn red.

"Please don't apologize. As long as you are alright, that's what matters. Now we're going to head off to bed. But please feel free to stay, they usually leave after a couple hours. Goodnight." Esme told me as she grabbed her husbands hand and walked away together.

"Come on I'll show you where you can change your clothes." Edward said as he picked up the clothes that Esme had left me.

We quietly walked up the stairs and he opened up the last door to the right.

Turning on the lights, he set the clothes down on the edge of his bed.

"Um, I'll wait outside." He walked out and closed the door behind him.

Walking over to the floor mirror in the corner of the room, I almost gasped at how horrible I looked.

I had dry blood all on my clothes, especially my dress which was our uniform at the diner. Now I would have to lose thirty five dollars in tips to get a new one.

Taking it off, I folded it and put on the sweats and T-shirt Esme had gotten for me.

A few moments later Edward knocked on the door.

"Come in." I said as I pulled the shirt over my stomach.

"Hey." He said as he went over and sat on the bench in front of the bed.

I wrapped my arms around myself and gave him a small smile.

"Bella, I wanted to apologize for the other day. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that and I shouldn't have let you leave upset. I was stupid and I wasn't thinking and I'm really sorry. But, I need you to know I'm in all the way, though. Promise. I-I want to be in our baby's life. I want to be apart of it all. I-If you'll let me, of course." Edward said.

I looked into his beautiful green eyes which looked so sincere. He didn't have to go into detail, I knew he was being honest. I was willing to put the past behind us and start over, especially because this wasn't just about me anymore, but about something more.

"Thank you, for apologizing. I forgive you, and I would like to start again. But right this time." I told him.

Edward smiled at me, genuinely happy. "Yes of course."

Getting up, he walked over to me and stuck out his hand.

"Hello, I'm Edward Cullen, and you are...?"

I looked at his hand and rolled my eyes. Smiling I took it."I'm Bella Swan. We don't have to start again _that_ far back."

"Ah. Got it." He said as he let go of my hand.

"Um, hey Edward, what did you're mom mean earlier about them usually leaving after a couple of hours?" I asked him confused.

Edward frowned as he walked over to the window. I followed him and peeked outside. There they were, two paparazzis, chilling by there motorcycles facing the house. I quickly closed the curtain.

"They either we're following me or arrived after I brought you here. I'm not sure. I'm sorry though. But like Esme said, you can stay here. You'll sleep on the bed, I'll sleep on the bench."

"Edward, I really don't want to be a bother. You can sleep on the bed and I'll go ahead and sleep on-'' he cut me off before I could suggest me sleeping on the bench instead. The bed was a king size, so the bench would have been perfect for me.

"My mom would kill me if she saw you sleeping on the bench instead of me. So really, I insist on sleeping on it."

I sighed. "Fine."

I sat down on the bed, which could have been the most comfortable bed I had ever sat my butt on and yawned.

"I'm going to go get a glass of water, but you go ahead and get some rest. We can talk in the morning." He said.

I nodded, feeling so tired.

He walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

I didn't even have the strength to bring the blanket up to cover me, the second I laid down, I was already fast asleep.

—

_My heart began to race as I heard footsteps walking slowly behind me. I looked around in front of me, not knowing how I could escape what I knew was coming. _

_I began to walk faster when I saw Edward, leaning against his car a block away from me. I smiled at him but as I did I noticed that he seemed to get farther away. _

_Calling out to him, I began to get scared when no words came out of my mouth. The footsteps behind me began to get closer and closer. Suddenly, without wanting to I stopped walking and watched as Edward got farther and farther away._

_I turned around and much to my relief found no one following me anymore. _

_As I turned back around, my eyes widen as the man grabbed me by my neck and..._

"Bella! Bella, shhh, it's alright. You're okay." Edward's voice told me as I jumped awake, opening my eyes to find him looking at me worried.

"What-what's going on." I asked, sitting up on the bed a bit confused but scared as well.

"I think you had a bad dream. You were talking in your sleep, then you started sounding a bit panicked. I walked over to you right when you started screaming..." Edward said, rubbing the back of his head.

"I'm so sorry. Did I wake anyone else?" I asked embarrassed.

"Don't apologize, you went through something a bit traumatic earlier, bad dreams are normal and expected. I got to you before you really screamed so I'm sure you didn't."

"Are you okay?" I asked him. He was still rubbing the back of his head like if he had hurt it.

"Yeah, I just, I fell off the bench." He said with a laugh.

Okay, now I felt worse. Looking around, I grabbed a pillow and placed it in the middle of the king size bed, separating the two sides. Patting the other side of my makeshift border, I looked at him and nodded towards the side.

"You sure?"

"Yes. The beds big enough so you might as well." It would also help me not feel as alone, but I wasn't about to tell him that.

He laid down on the bed, over the blanket he had seemed to put over me when I was sleeping.

I stared up at the ceiling, checking to see if I had completely lost my sleep before turning to my side and facing Edward who was looking at me.

"So my dad wanted me to let you know that he set up an appointment with an OB-GYN that works with him at the hospital for tomorrow. She is a family friend and a really great doctor. Someone we trust one hundred percent. I-I'd cover the cost, so you shouldn't have to worry about it. I'm not trying to sound like a douche but I can help in that way, my career has allowed me to be able to do that. So I'd like to take the financial part out of your hands. If you let me of course. But it's like he said, it's up to you if you want to go there and let me help out how I can." He told me sincerely.

I bit my lip as I thought about it. A big part of me wanted to say no thank you. But, what was the point of me being proud and saying no to his offer. We were in this together now. If that was the way he could help out, so be it.

"Okay." I said quietly.

He looked at me surprised.

L

"Really? That's great, we'll go first thing in the morning, then." He said, a hint of excitement in his voice.

"We can't go first thing in the morning, I have to go home and change at least." I told him.

He looked down at my baggy sweatpants and shirt.

"What for? That's not a bad look on you." He grinned at me.

I rolled my eyes and smiled. "Thanks. I really need to change though. There now, let's go to sleep, or no one is waking up early for anything." I said, covering myself with the blanket.

I closed my eyes still facing Edward.

"Bella." Edward said quietly as he turned the lamps on the night stand off.

"Hmm?" I asked.

"Thank you. For the second chance. I'll try my hardest to not let you down." He said quietly.

I nodded, too tired to do anything else.

I quickly drifted back to sleep, thinking as I did now a days about the choices I had made that had led me here. So far, though not the greatest, I was glad I didn't have to worry about doing this alone.


	5. Chapter Five

*AN* Thank you guys for your reviews! Please know your feedback is greatly appreciated. I corrected some things in the last chapter and will work to improve! Please don't forget to **REVIEW FAVORITE AND FOLLOW! **Its greatly appreciated! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter it's a bit longer than the rest!

PS What do you think is the best time to post? Let me know what you guys think, I am really curious to hear what you think!***

Chapter Five

I woke up as the sun was starting to come up. I turned to my side and blushed when I noticed I was laying on top of our makeshift pillow border and had my hand draped over Edward's chest. He was laying on his back, still fast asleep, his head turned towards the opposite direction of me.

Quietly, I removed my arm from on top of his chest and quietly got up. He stirred a bit in the process but stayed asleep.

Walking over to the window, I checked to see if the men with cameras were still there but the whole street was quiet and empty. It was so weird thinking of them as _paparazzi. _Not in a million years did I think I would have to even care about checking outside windows for them.

Closing the curtain, I decided to leave the room to go find a bathroom.

Stepping out of the room, I quietly closed the door.

As I turned around I saw a girl looking at me.

"You must be Bella! I'm so happy to meet you! I'm Alice, Edwards little sister." The girl said as she skipped towards me to give me a hug.

"Um hello, I'm happy to meet you too." I told her, a little bit taken aback.

"I can tell we're going to be the best of friends! I can't believe I'm going to be an Auntie! I'm so excited!" She squealed.

"Woah, Alice back off-you're going to scare her away." Edward groggily said from behind me.

Quickly she backed away and smiled shyly.

"I'm sorry, I just get very excited." She said.

"It's alright. I was actually, just looking for the bathroom..." I told her.

"Oh right, sorry, we can talk later! I have to go either way. Bye!" She said giving me and Edward kisses on the cheek before heading down the stairs.

"I'm sorry about Alice. She's a bit...much sometimes." Edward said.

I turned to look at him and smiled.

"Maybe, but I really liked her. Good morning by the way, I tried not to wake you." I told him.

"Morning. It's okay, I'm actually a light sleeper. The bathroom is through the first door on the right of the stairs by the way, Bella." Edward said pointing to it.

"Oh right, thank you." I said, almost having forgotten what I had needed to do.

When I was done I headed back into the room to grab my things as a grabbed my bag, I turned towards the closet and gasped. Edward was in there shirtless, about to put on another T-shirt.

"What, whats wrong?" Edward asked worried as he came to my side.

I peaked through my hand at his bare body and shut my eyes.

"I'm sorry I-I didn't know you were changing." I told him.

He laughed.

"Bella, you're fine. Either way it's not like it's nothing you've never seen before." He said sarcastically.

I shut my eyes even harder and groaned. "Okay now that was unnecessary. I'm going to wait for you downstairs."

I quickly walked towards the direction of the door with my eyes still closed tripping a bit, when I knew he wasn't in my eyesight I opened my eyes and cringed as I heard Edward laughing behind me.

Saying Edward was hot was a complete understatement. I now understood a bit more girls obsession with him in that movie he was in. From what Jess had tried to tell me about the movie there was plenty of moments where he was shirtless. I felt myself turning even redder at the thought.

"Good morning Bella. Did Edward speak to you about my colleague from work?" Mr. Cullen said as I walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Cullen. Yes, he did and I told him yes. I would really like to see her. Thank you." I said shyly.

"What did I say about the names Bella?" Mrs Cullen asked as she sat a plate of food on the table and motioned for me to sit.

"Right, I'm sorry, Esme." I said blushing. I felt like if I had blushed more this pregnancy than ever in my life.

"Great. I'm going to head on over to the hospital and let Dr. Graves know you'll be coming in later." Dr Cullen said as he picked up his empty plate and left it in the sink.

Kissing his wife goodbye, he walked over to me and put his hand on my shoulder, giving it a small squeeze.

"It's been great meeting you Bella. I hope to see more of you soon. Goodbye for now." He said.

"Goodbye," I told him as he left.

"Thank you for the food, Esme and for letting me stay as well. I really appreciate it." I told her as I began to eat. I hadn't realized I was so hungry.

"Please don't thank me. I'm so happy you stayed. How are you feeling, any morning sickness? I had that a lot with Edward. Especially heartburn. It was the worst. But supposedly that meant he would have tons of hair. I didn't believe it but sure enough, he was born with a head full of hair. I have pictures I can show you some other time"

I smiled at the thought of baby Edward.

"I'd love to see them." I told her. I frowned as I began to think about it.

"Actually, don't you think that would be weird? I mean, we aren't together or anything. I wouldn't want to make him uncomfortable." I told her.

"Well, not yet, anyway. Still, you're family now. And family gets to see baby pictures." Esme said to me.

I didn't get to think about what she meant by _not yet, anyway _before I heard Edward come down the stairs.

"Morning mom." Edward said as he came to sit by me.

He was changed now, and had seemed to take a quick shower by the looks of his wet bronze hair.

Even without trying, he looked like something out of a high fashion magazine.

I almost pinched myself. _Get you crap together Bella, as attractive as he is he's not into you. You two are just having a baby together, that's it. Stop swooning over him. _My inner voice said to me. I quickly looked away from him and turned to look at Esme, who was looking at us like she knew something we didn't. I looked down at my plate instead where it was safe.

Edward waited patiently for me to finish while he talked to his mom about her helping him decorate the new place he was planning on getting.

"I'm wanting to have three rooms at least this time, so it's a lot more decorating. I understand if you're busy with clients though mom, I can look for someone else." Edward told her.

"I'm never too busy for helping you and your siblings out though. Once you find the place, let me know so I can go ahead and check it out. Would you like some more Bella? " She said as she looked over at my empty plate.

"Oh, no thank you, I'm full, it was so delicious." I told her.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." She said as she picked up my plate.

"Were you ready to go?" Edward asked as he stood up.

"Yeah, I am. Goodbye, Esme." I said as I got up from the table.

"Goodbye sweetie. I hope to see you again soon, don't be a stranger and stop by whenever you like." She said.

He opened the front door as I put it on and a cool morning breeze hit us. We walked to his car quietly, and as we neared it he quickly opened the door for me.

"Thanks." I said a little surprised as I got in. I wasn't used to this.

"Why did you sound so surprised?" Edward asked as he got in and started the car.

He motioned for me to type my address on the touchscreen.

I began to type as I thought about my response.

"I know you're not my boyfriend or anything, but I've never had a guy I guess, a guy _friend_ who was so old fashion." I said.

"Bella, I just opened your door. You must not have had that many great boyfriends then." He said as he started driving in the direction the GPS told him to go.

I blushed. "I actually only ever had the one. Remember, from that night."

"Oh. That guy must have sucked then." He said.

I laughed. "Yeah, he really did."

It was silent for a bit as Edward drove.

"Bella?" Edward asked.

"Yeah?"

"You know, since were having a baby together and all, I think it would be good if we learned a bit more about each other. Like, when's your birthday?" He asked me.

"September 13, 1995. Remember, the day we met it was my birthday?" I said to him.

"I remember. I just wanted to know the year. My birthday is June 25,1995. So I'm older. You know what mine do, so what about your parents?" He asked.

"My mom is a kindergarten teacher and lives in Arizona. My dad is a police chief in a tiny town in Washington. How many siblings do you have?" I asked him.

"Two. I have an older brother named Emmett and then there's Alice whom you've met. What about you?"

"I'm an only child. My parents divorced when I was a baby. My dad never remarried, and my mom didn't settle down till she was way older so it was just me." I told him.

We began a whole back and forth conversation with each other, talking about things like our allergies (me strawberries, him nothing of course) to what was our favorite colors (I blurted out green without thinking while he told me he didn't have a favorite color.) were.

Before I knew it, we were already at my place.

"Would you like to come inside?" I asked him, unsure if that would be weird or not. Jess wasn't home anymore and he would more likely get caught out here by the paparazzi than upstairs in our apartment.

"You sure?" He asked.

"I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to. You can wait for me here but I thought you probably wouldn't want to wait in the car so-'' I had began rambling until he cut me off.

"I'll wait inside. Thank you."

Putting on his sunglasses, he quickly got out of the car and walked around to open my door.

As he closed it behind me I typed in my code in the keypad and opened the door.

We walked up two flights of stairs until we came to my door.

Putting the key in, I turned to look at him.

"So it's not much. It's small and I have a roommate who can sometimes be messy so please don't mind that." I said quickly.

He smiled at me in a way which made my nerves go away.

"It's okay Bella."

I turned around and unlocked the door.

"Bella is that you?" Jess said from her room.

My eyes widened. Grabbing Edward's hand I quickly dragged him to my room and shut the door.

"I'll be back." I whispered to Edward who stood there trying not to laugh.

Opening the door, I quietly walked out of my room and shut the door.

"Yeah it's me. I thought you were supposed to be at work already?" I told her as she walked out of her room.

"They asked me to go in an hour later. Where were you last night?" She asked as she put on her heels.

"I was...out...with...friends." I said, not thinking of a better excuse.

"Yeah, and I have the Edward guy waiting for me in my room to come back home. I have to go, so think of a better lie while I'm gone. See you." She said as she walked towards the door.

I felt my eyes widen. Of all the things she could have said she went with that.

Quickly turning around she began to walk towards me.

"Ah, I forgot to turn your curler off."

"No! No, it's okay I'll get it, you go ahead and go to work." I said blocking my door.

She frowned.

"You're acting strange, but okay. Bye."

I waited for her to leave before opening my door.

Edward was laying on my bed reading my worn copy of Romeo and Juliet.

"So, should I go make your friends bed and surprise her?" Edward asked, grinning up from the book.

I rolled my eyes. "Absolutely not. I'm going to go take a shower, and change, make yourself at home."

I told him as I grabbed clean clothes and my towel.

As I went to the restroom, I thought about how I would eventually have to tell my parents and Jess I was pregnant and who I was pregnant by. The thought alone made me shiver. I didn't know who's reaction to fear more. Jess' or my dad's

—

Edward laughed as I finished my story.

"I can't believe you hid for three hours." He said laughing.

"What was worse was that my mom invited my dad. She was so excited but my six year old self was positive I did not want to perform. So I hid in that closet until a cop found me. My dad has organized a manhunt. It was so bad. But there enough embarrassing me, do you have any recital horror stories?" I asked him.

"My mom only ever put me in piano classes, but I was what you would call a child prodigy. So I never missed a recital. I actually enjoyed it, you see. " He told me with a grin.

I rolled my eyes. "Well aren't you Mr. Perfect."

"I don't like to brag but..." He shrugged.

I laughed.

"Edward? Your dad told me you'd be stopping by. I'm Dr. Graves, you must be Isabella Swan. Lovely to meet you." Dr. Graves said as she walked up to us.

"Likewise. You can call me Bella." I told her as I shook her hand.

"Okay Bella, let's go ahead and see how everything's going. Edward you wait here, I'll call you back in a bit when I do the ultrasound." She said.

He nodded and sat back down. Giving me a small smile, I turned around and followed her to a nearby room.

We talked while she drew my blood, asked questions and examined me. It made the appointment go a lot faster, and it made me feel a lot more comfortable and less nervous.

As we finished, she gave me a card for I could make an appointment at her OBGYN office for future visits.

"I'm going to call Edward in now, is that alright?" She asked as she brought the ultrasound machine closer to me.

"Yes that's fine." I told her as I laid down.

A few seconds later they walked in together, talking about something.

"For how long will you be gone?" She asked as he took a seat next to me.

"Two months, but I'll be sure too be back for Taylor's birthday party." He told her.

_Two months? _Where was he going to go? I didn't have time to think about it as Dr. Graves told me to lift my shirt up and unbutton my pants.

"This is going to be a bit cold." She told me as she took the cap off the gel.

I shivered as it went on.

We all stayed quiet then as she dimmed the lights and moved the doppler around my stomach.

"Okay, so if you look here this is your baby..." She began to say but all I could really focus on was the little blob that was on the monitor.

"Would you like to hear the heartbeat?" Dr. Graves asked me.

I nodded, not wanting to talk.

After she moved the machine a bit, the room was filled with the steady and fast beating of the baby's heart.

"Wow." Edward said.

I turned to look at him and smiled.

"I know." Was all I said back.

There had been many moments like this, where things weren't perfect. We weren't married. We weren't even together. We were just slowly learning things about each other. Yet, at this moment everything just felt right.

—

I looked at the ultrasound photo of our little blob and smiled.

"Hey, I wanted to ask you something, if it's okay with you." I told Edward as I put the photo back in the bag filled with a bunch of pamphlets about pregnancy.

"Of course, what's up?" He said.

He held open my door but I paused and looked at him.

"I know it's not my business so you don't have to answer but, you were saying something about leaving for two months...what for, if you don't mind me asking? I'm sorry, it's none of my business, let's pretend I didn't say anything." I said as I got in.

I should have just shut up.

Coming around to the driver side, he sat down and started the car.

"You can ask me whatever you want Bella. Don't ever feel like you can't. We have to be comfortable around each other. I actually wanted to talk to you about that. I had some press junkets in LA and I had some scene reshoots for some upcoming projects. But I'm not really obligated to do them so if you want me to stay-''

I cut him off before more dumb things came out of his mouth.

"Woah no, you're going. You have a job you have to do over there. Please don't think you need to stay for me or the baby. We're not boyfriend and girlfriend so you have no obligation to me and I promise this little blob will continue to cook in here wether you're here or not." I said patting my stomach.

For a second he seemed a bit hurt by my response, but it was so quick that I wasn't sure what I saw in his eyes exactly.

"You sure? I was planning on going with you to your appointments and I'm already going to miss two." He said.

"I can tell my friend Jess to go with me, no biggie." I said.

"You're friend Jess doesn't even know your pregnant." Edward said a bit concerned.

"Well, if I don't get the courage to tell her before your back, I'll just go alone...or I'll tell your sister to come with me. We're practically best friends already remember?" I added after he shot me a look when I said I'd go alone.

"You're sure about this?" He asked me one last time.

"Positive. Go." I said though I knew I really didn't mean it. I wanted him to stay here with me. But like I had clarified earlier, we weren't boyfriend and girlfriend and even if we were it'd still be selfish of me to keep him here when everything would be fine.

Though we had only been on good terms for not even a day, things felt good and right. Now only time would tell how things would go from here on out.


	6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Two Months Later.

"Bye." Jess told me coldly as she walked out the door.

I flinched as the door slam shut.

It had been a week since I told Jessica I was pregnant and well, it hadn't gone that great.

She was mad at me, but wouldn't really explain why. It made things worse when she asked who the father was and I didn't answer.

I finished my cereal, trying to hold back tears.

One thing this pregnancy had done to me was make me really emotional and it didn't help that my best friend was so upset with me for a reason I didn't quite understand.

As I got up to wash my bowl, there was a knock on the door that made me get excited. Quickly I went to open it.

"Oh, hey Alice." I said with a small smile.

"Hi Bella, don't sound too disappointed that I'm not Edward." Alice said as she let herself in.

"I'm not disappointed! I'm glad you're here, I was getting a bit bored." I told her, ignoring the fact that she had mentioned him.

Every day since he had left, Edward always made sure to text or call to check up on me and the baby. We would sometimes talk about the most random things for hours, or just quickly about how we were doing if he worked late or was busy. I hadn't heard anything from him since yesterday which I found a little odd. He wasn't obligated to talk to me everyday though so I shouldn't have been as bothered as I was.

"Okay great! I brought a couple of dresses for you to wear to the party. You can pick, but I'll be the final judge." Alice said.

That's when I noticed the bags she had brought in.

"Alice, I told you I wasn't going to go. It's weird going to my doctor's daughter's birthday." I said as I looked inside the bags.

"Bella, it's not weird. Especially because she invited you. So will you please go with me, it's not far from my house so we can just go back there when you're tired and have a girls night. What do you say?" She asked, looking at me with her big puppy dog eyes.

I sighed.

"Fine. But I get final say on the dress." I told her.

She frowned but at least I would win in something.

—

"Have you heard from Edward by the way?" I asked Alice as she fixed my hair. We were running late for the party, but Alice had insisted on doing something with my hair before we left.

My brown hair was naturally wavy and I didn't really do much with it. Today though, Alice had made loose curls and was putting half of it up with two braids on either side.

"Not since yesterday. He said he was going to be really busy with work today though. That's probably why he hasn't called or texted." Alice said as she pinned the braids together.

"That's not why I was asking." I lied.

"Sureee. Okay, I'm all done. You look so pretty, Bella!" Alice said as she grabbed my hand and pulled me up from the chair.

Walking over to the mirror behind my door, I almost didn't believe I was looking at myself in the mirror. It was weird saying but I actually felt...pretty.

The dress we had settled on was a salmon color. It was was a mini wrap dress, a bit boho looking but it covered up my bump that had slowly been making an appearance. I wasn't embarrassed of people knowing I was pregnant. I just wanted to avoid all the questions I would get asked.

"Thanks Alice. I love it! But we have to go." I told her as I grabbed a beige cardigan to throw over.

Grabbing my phone, I texted Jess and let her know I wouldn't be home which she probably wouldn't care about.

"Oh right!" She said grabbing our things and heading out the door.

—

I checked my phone again, yet I still hadn't received anything. I needed to stop checking. He didn't have to call or text everyday, but I had gotten so used to it already this seemed odd.

"Hey there, I'm Jacob." Someone said to me. Looking up I smiled at the unfamiliar guy.

"Hello, I'm Bella." I said as I shook his hand. He sat down next to me where Alice had been sitting but she had headed inside the house to go to the bathroom.

"Nice to meet you Bella. So are you family or friend of my Aunt Miriam?" He asked.

"Um, you could say I'm a friend slash patient." I told him.

"Patient?" He asked confused.

I put my hand under my stomach and patted my little bump. "Yup. Patient."

He looked down at my stomach and nodded.

"Ahh, of course. The good ones are always taken..." He said taking a sip of his drink.

"Excuse me? I'm not taken, not that it's any of your business." I told him.

"Oh?" He said raising his eyebrows.

"Also, that doesn't mean I'm interested."

"Not yet anyways." He said. This guy just wouldn't take a hint.

"Not ever. I've got to go, my friend's waiting for me inside." I told him, getting up from the table.

Walking over to a table close to the house, I grabbed a plate of fruit and took it inside.

Sitting on the kitchen counter I began to eat the fruit, as I waited for Alice to go back outside.

"Aren't you allergic to strawberries?"

"Yeah, but they looks so tempting, honestly. Wait-Edward?" I asked quickly turning around.

Standing there behind me, looking as handsome as ever, he smiled at me.

Not being able to help myself, I got up and hugged him.

"Hey, there." Edward said a bit surprised by my reaction. He squeezed me softly before letting me go.

"I thought you weren't coming back for another two weeks." I told him.

"I ended up finishing earlier than scheduled so I decided to come back early. I had promised I would be back for Taylor's birthday as well. But hey, you're looking beautiful. How's baby doing?" Edward asked.

"Good, just growing and growing. Look, I have a bump." I told him as I put a hand above and under my stomach.

"Wow. I can see that." He said as he put a hand on my belly.

His hand on my stomach made me feel butterflies which was something I hadn't felt before.

As I watched him rub my belly, a woman came up to Edward. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and hugged his arm.

"Hey Eddie, you want to go with me to leave the gift?" She asked him completely ignoring that I was there.

I backed up and let Edward's hand fall from my stomach. She was calling him Eddie, which was strange since he had told me he hated being called that.

"Can you please not call me that. Also you don't have to keep up the act here. There isn't any press ready to film you right now." He said a bit annoyed.

"All those people out there have cameras. I'm not going to risk it."

Edward sighed.

"Bella, this is Tanya. Tanya, this is Bella."

"Hi." I said with a small smile.

She just nodded in my direction.

"Alright, let's go, I don't have all day. " She said pulling his arm.

"I'll be back, Bella." Edward told me as he was dragged outside by Tanya.

"Yeah, that's fine." I told him.

As I watched them go outside and greet people, I couldn't help but feel so stupid.

These past two months had been so great. Though we were both on opposite sides of the country, we had talked everyday, and somehow gotten closer. He never mentioned Tanya or what they were doing. And for some stupid reason, I though he would come back and we'd...

I just wanted to go home at this point.

Alice had been gone for more than thirty minutes at this point and I wasn't going to wait anymore.

Texting her a quick, I didn't feel good and I feel a bit sick text I took one last look at the backyard where Edward and Tanya were talking to guest of the party.

Carlisle was standing with Esme looking at the direction of Edward with a look that seemed that they were as confused as I was.

Right as I was about to turn around Esme looked up at my direction.

Smiling, I waved goodbye to her and turned around.

Heading outside, I took out my phone to get an Uber to take me to the nearest subway station.

"You need a ride?" Jacob said from behind me.

"I'm fine, thank you. Also you shouldn't be offering anyone rides. You were drinking earlier remember?" I told him. Still looking down at my phone.

"Bella, I was drinking fruit punch, as over the top this party is, it's still a kids party. Come on I'll give you a ride." He said.

"I don't even know you." I told him looking up at him.

"You know my name. Look, if it makes you feel any better I'll text my Aunt Miriam and tell her you're with me. That you had pregnant woman stuff going on." He said as he took out his phone and began writing a message.

I sighed as I put my phone away.

"Fine. But just to the subway station. And please don't put pregnant woman stuff. Just say I was feeling a bit sick and tired. She'll believe that." I told him.

"Alrighty." He said as he pressed send.

"So why did you want to leave the party so early?" Jacob asked as he started the car.

"I think the nearest subway stop is the one in Wakefield and 241 street." I told him ignoring the question.

"Was it because of me?" He asked.

I laughed. "You wish. Also you just missed the street."

"I'm heading back to the city so I'll just drop you off closer. So does it have anything to do with the Cullens maybe?" He asked me.

I turned to look at him. "Why would you think that?"

"I'm a very observant person. I saw the way you were looking at Edward. You looked disappointed. And then I saw the way Mrs. Cullen looked at you when you left. So, am I right?" He asked.

"No." I lied.

"Oh wow, don't tell me you're into Edward. Wait no-is is he your baby's father?" He asked putting two and two together.

"No, he isn't." I said lying again.

"Wow Bella you're a terrible liar."

"I know I am. But you can't say anything. It's...complicated."

"I'm not into all that celebrity gossip crap. You sure know how to pick 'em though." He said.

I rolled my eyes.

"So where are you from?" He asked me trying to make conversation.

"Im from a small town called Forks in Washington."

"Really? I was born and raised in La Push. Around thirty minutes from Forks." He told me.

"What really? My dads best friend was from La Push. His name was Billy Black. Why are you stopping?" I asked as Jacob he parked in front of a random building.

"You've got to be kidding me. Your dad is Charlie freaking Swan?" He asked surprised.

"Yes he is. This is so crazy! Wait, why didn't we ever see each other when I was living there though?" I asked.

"I never went over to Charlie's house and you never came over to ours. After I graduated I moved straight over here with my moms sister. Charlie talked about you all the time though. Now that I look at you clearly, you look a lot like him." He said.

"I remember your dad always taking about you too. Before he would leave he'd always say 'Come over to the Res when you can Bells, so you can meet my boy Jake.' It would have been nice to have a friend in the city from back home." I told him.

That was true. Especially now. Me and Jess were part of the small percentage who left Forks, Washington after graduation. We were even part of the smaller percent that moved to New York. I wasn't one to really make friends so to have been able to know Jacob as well would have been great.

"I'm going to be honest, Bella, I would have gone to Charlie's the first time he asked if I would have known how pretty you were." Jake said to me.

I looked down and blushed.

"How's your dad?" I asked him ignoring his comment.

"He's doing great actually, I just visited him a month ago. Saw Charlie too. He always asks jokingly if I have ran into you in the city. Now I can tell him I have." He said with a grin.

"No, you can't tell him you saw me. He doesn't know about this yet." I said pointing at my stomach.

"You haven't told him Bella? I mean when were you planning on doing that? When your baby is three? That's messed up to Charlie." Jacob said.

I frowned. "I know, I just don't want to hear him be...disappointed in me."

"Come on Bella, he loves you. He might be upset at first, but he's your dad. He'll come around."

"I hope you're right."

—

_It's nice having another friend from home here. Thank you for the ride. -Bella_

_My thoughts exactly. See you again soon hopefully. -Jake_

I smiled at my phone as I saved Jake's number. We had had such a good talk that I honestly didn't want it to end. He seemed like a great guy, if I ignored his flirting. It wasn't that he wasn't attractive, I mean he really was. But I just wasn't interested. Especially not now when I was in the middle of a pregnancy.

Putting my phone away, I unlocked my apartment door. I was about to call out to Jess when I heard his voice and froze.

"I already told you. I haven't spoken to Bella since we broke up. The whole time we were together we never even had sex. So she's definitely not pregnant with my baby." Mike told Jessica. He sounded out of breath so I didn't have to think hard to know what they were doing.

"Then why is she being so secretive about who her baby daddy is? Ugh she's so annoying, she thinks she's better than everyone. I swear if rent wasn't so expensive in New York I'd already leave her pregnant ass and find a new roommate. It's exhausting pretending to like her." Jessica said.

"I mean, she's not that bad. Anyways, when are you going to tell her about us? I mean she doesn't have to know about us hooking up for the past two years, obviously. We can make something up about how we saw each other last week and just hit it off." Mike told her.

"Are you serious? You're still into her, aren't you? 'She's not that bad'. Whatever. This is why I'm not going to tell her anything about you anytime soon." Jessica said annoyed.

"Babe, where are you going?"

"To get something to drink and don't even think I'll get something for you."

_Two years. _Two years ago me and Mike were still together. Yet, Jessica, my best friend, had been doing God knows what with him behind my back.

"Oh my God Bella, you weren't supposed to come home right now. I-I can explain though." Jessica said as she walked out of her room in only her underwear.

"Bella? What do you mean Bella?" Mike said from the room.

There was a thump on the ground and then he came out running out of the room in nothing but boxers.

I stood there looking at Jess.

"How could you?" Was all I managed to get out.

She walked over to me and try grabbing my hand but I flinched away from the touch.

"Bella please, I can explain. It was a stupid mista-.''

I wasn't typically a violent person. But at that moment I just wanted her to shut up so I did the only thing I could at the moment. I slapped her.

"Go to hell. Both of you." I said, turning around and walking out the door.

Grabbing my wrist she forced me to turn around.

"Let go of me!" I told her.

"No, you bitch! Who do you think you are to hit me?" She said as she grabbed my wrist tighter.

"Let go!" I told her again struggling against her grip.

She raised her hand ready to return the slap I had given her.

Closing my eyes I waited for it to happen but it didn't.

"Let go of her." Edward said from behind me in menacing tone.

"Oh my gosh, you're Edward Cullen!" Jessica said putting her arm down.

She let go of me, star struck by Edward.

"Hi I'm Jessica." She said completely forgetting the fact that she was in her underwear and had tried to slap me back.

"I couldn't care less who you are. If you ever try to raise your hand at Bella again, you will hear from me and I won't be nice. Let's go." Edward said to her.

"She slapped me first." Jessica said, shocked that he was defending me.

"By the look of things you probably deserved it." Edward said as he looked at both Mike and Jessica with disgust.

Turning around, he led me out the door.

"Why did you come?" I asked quietly.

"Mrs. Graves let me know you had gone home with Jacob Black of all people because you didn't feel good. So I needed to make sure you were okay. Also I wanted to talk to you about what happened earlier at the party." He said as he opened the car door for me.

"I don't want to talk about that right now." I said as I got into the car.

"Well, what do you want to talk about then?" He asked me as he started the car.

I stayed quiet. "I feel so alone. She was my only friend. My best friend. Yet the whole time our friendship had been a lie. She slept with Mike when I was with him. She saw how our breakup hurt me especially because of how it ended and she had the audacity to pretend to be there for me and act like she cared... ugh I don't want to cry about that. She's not worth it." I said. I rubbed the tear that fell down my cheek without permission.

"It's okay to cry, maybe it'll make you feel better." Edward told me. He sighed. "Bella I know we haven't been around as long as she was, but you have me an Alice. I promise. We're here for you when you need us. You already know Alice see's you as a sister. So please don't think you're alone."

"Thank you. I know that, and I appreciate it so much." I told him.

He smiled at me and carefully reached for my hand, squeezing it gently.

"So, are you hungry?" He asked changing the subject.

I smiled. "I'm always hungry nowadays."

"Great. I know just the place."


	7. Chapter Seven

**A.N. Long time, no see! I've missed writing but college takes a lot out of me. Thankfully, I finished up this semester and wanted to update y'all with this quick little chapter! I hope all is well with each one of you. I hope you enjoy. Please don't forget to **REVEIW, FAVORITE, and FOLLOW**! I really appreciate it. Talk to ya'll soon hopefully!**

Chapter Seven

"You can stop staring. I'm okay. Seriously." I told Edward as I took a bite of my hot dog trying to prove my point.

We were sitting on a bench in Central Park eating hotdogs. There hadn't been a lot of talking, especially with me stuffing my mouth. It was nice though.

"Fine. Well then, um, I wanted to apologize for earlier." He said finally turning away from me and looking in the opposite direction.

"For what?"

"For the whole Tanya thing earlier at the party..." He looked down at his sweater and began picking imaginary pieces of lint off it. He seem almost nervous which looked strange but cute on him. Edward seemed to be the type of guy who exuded confidence, yet right now that wasn't the case.

"Oh, that." I said putting down my last piece of hotdog, suddenly losing my appetite.

He noticed and turned to look at me, curiosity burning in his eyes.

"That's alright. I mean, we're not together or anything. You're allowed to date if you want. Don't let me hold you back." I managed to say without sounding completely disappointed. I was going for a joking tone to my voice but knew I had probably failed.

"Yeah, I know we're not together, obviously. But still—I wanted to explain the situation. It wasn't my idea it was the studio execs—they see the success the movie is having and want to keep the buzz going, especially with award season coming up. They want to guarantee our movie will get nominated and this is part of the strategy. It's stupid really but I tried to fight them on it but they wouldn't budge."

"Wow. I never knew all the movie stuff was so complicated. I'm sorry you're having to do something you don't want to. I understand though, if I'm being honest it just all caught me by surprise that's all. But like I said, it's not my business." I felt a bit relieved yet annoyed with myself.

Though I would never admit it out loud, I was crazy jealous. Seeing Tanya there didn't catch me a little by surprise but a whole lot. For some stupid reason, I had felt like maybe there was a spark between me and Edward and it died the second I saw the beautiful Tanya Denali all over him. Even though he now confirmed there was nothing going on between them, I was all over the place with my emotions and feelings. This pregnancy was making me go a bit nuts.

"Maybe not but, you are the woman whose carrying my child. I think that earns you the right of at least getting a explanation in my book." He turned to look at me and smiled making my heart skip a beat.

Before he could see the way the blood rushed up to my cheeks I jumped up and gathered up my trash.

"Let me go throw this away." I said quickly turning to the nearest trash can which was a short walk away.

This was getting ridiculous. I was swooning. Every little thing he did just...made my heart jump out of my chest. Not even Mike could have gotten this type of reaction out of me.

Speaking about Mike...

I threw my trash away while trying hard to avoid the tears wanting to form in my eyes. It really seemed like everything in my body was programmed wrong. Edward smiles at me—turn red. Get angry—cry like a baby.

"Oh my gosh, you're Edward Cullen! I'm Lexie, I loved you so much in the movie. It was so good, I saw it two more times. Can I please take a photo with you?" A girl squealed.

I turned around, forgetting about how angry I was to look back at Edward on the bench. He looked up at me quickly and I smiled trying to let him know it was okay, but I'd keep my distance. Looking around tómame sure there weren't other people who were paying attention, he stood up and smiled at the girl.

"Thank you so much, Lexie. I'm really glad you liked it. Oh and of course we can take a photo. Where are your from by the way?" He asked as she readied her camera.

I leaned against the tree near the trash can and watched their interaction. It was crazy to me that the guy I was seeing in front of me right now was the same guy at the apartment I had told I was pregnant weeks ago. The way he had acted was so harsh compared to every other moment we had spoke. He was a good guy though he had his moments, that was for sure.

He talked to her for a few more seconds before she said thank you and skipped away. Just then a cool breeze hit bringing the odor of the trashcan with it.

"Oh no." Was all I managed to say before I threw up the contents of my stomach in said trashcan.

Instantly I felt warm hands on the nape of my neck pulling my hair back.

"Here drink some water," he said, handing me my water bottle.

"Thank you. I'm sorry, the smell of the trash hit me..." I said as the need to barf went away.

"Lets get away from it then. Try smelling this, my cologne's on it so it might make things worse or better." He said shrugging out of his jacket.

I shook my head trying to breath through my mouth till the queasiness went away. "It's alright, I'll get puke on it."

He held it out towards me and gave me a look. I sighed and grabbed it, sniffing it. It instantly helped get rid of the stench of the rotten God knows what that was in the trash.

"Ugh, I feel disgusting now. I need to go home and shower..." I drifted off as I felt my throat get tight.

I couldn't go home. I couldn't go and face Jessica, not now. Honestly, I never wanted to see her again.

"Lets go to my parents' place. Alice had said you two were going to have a girls night, you can take a shower there. Don't think about Jessica right now. We'll figure it out." Edward quickly said to me.

I didn't like the way my heart jumped at the mention of 'we'. I was being ridiculous at this point. I let my mind drift to other things that were important.

"I'm going to have to eventually and it's better sooner than later. I need to start looking for places. I can't go back and live with her. I think Angela said something about one of her roommates brother that was looking for someone to occupy one of the rooms in his apartment. I should probably give her a call before it's too late." I said mostly to myself.

Taking out my phone, I began searching for her number in my messages to send her a quick text.

"Bella, you can't stay with...a guy. You're pregnant. You already know my parents aren't going to mind you staying with them. They would rather you be somewhere they know is safe. _I'd_ rather you stay with them too than some friends roommates brother." Edward said next to me.

I rolled my eyes as I figured out what to text Angela. "I know I'm pregnant. I'm not contagious or anything though. Either way I can't ask your parents to do that. They barley know me. It's too much. Hey!"

I tried to reach for my phone that Edward had casually taken from me and put in his pocket but he just leaned away.

"They love you though. You're carrying their grandchild. It's only temporary though either way. Once I get my own apartment, you can move in with me."

I froze. Move in with him? What? That was big.

"Move in with you?" I repeated slowly.

He looked a little embarrassed like if he had said too much but quickly recovered.

"Yeah. I was looking for a two or three bedroom. A room for each of us. Bella, why does it seem like you are more comfortable moving in with a complete stranger than with me?" He said feigning to be hurt.

"I-I um. Our. Um. I don't—. Do you think it's a good idea?" I asked him.

He smiled his crooked smiled that made my heart skip. "Of course. I wouldn't have suggested if I didn't think so. You're having a baby—we're having a baby. Like I already told you, I want to be there for everything. From three a.m. craving runs to five a.m. diaper changes. It's going to be difficult doing that with you living God knows where. We should probably head home actually if you're feeling up for it, it looks like it might rain."

I looked up at the sky and sure enough, a dark cloud was heading towards us. I felt a bit shocked. Edward had thrown a lot at me in less than five minutes. I needed time to think.

"I need to think about it." I repeated my thoughts out loud as I began walking towards the exit.

"What's there to think about Bella? It's the perfect solution to everything." He said as he calmly walked next to me.

I bit my lip thinking about what to do. We neared his car and I picked up pace to try to reach for the door handle before him but failed.

He looked amused by my behavior. Holding the door for me, I quickly whispered a small thanks before turning to try and buckle my seatbelt. The door didn't close and I noticed but pretended that I didn't. He was still standing there but again I ignored him.

"Bella?"

I turned quickly and caught my breath, looking at his beautiful face inches from mine.

"Yes?" I asked, not sure what was going on.

He leaned in closer still smiling.

"I can tell you're going to be very difficult about this. Just know—I always get what I want. I'm overprotective of the things I love, you need to know that. Unless you can find a safer and better solution, you're moving in with me. End of story. Alright?" He said cooly.

I just nodded.

He smiled again and stood up straight.

"Good." Closing my door, he walked over to the driver side while I stared off into the distance.

If I knew something it was that this whole situation had a good chance of ending really badly. Yet, I didn't know if I was making things better or worse at this point. All I knew was that I was a mess. Emotionally and physically mentally. You name it.

Edward Cullen was going to be the death of me, that was at least one thing I could be certain of.


	8. Chapter Eight

***AN. As always, it's been a long time. I hope you guys are staying safe during these scary times. We will make it through this. It's been stressful but as writing this chapter was a distraction for me I hope this chapter gives you a couple of minutes to think of something other than this pandemic. I hope that you are all staying safe and inside unless it's completely necessary to leave your homes. All essential workers, y'all are amazing and hero's during this time. I hope you guys enjoy. See your soon hopefully! Please leave a REVIEW, And FAVORITE AND FOLLOW this story. Let me know how your doing in the reviews! I want to hear from y'all!***

Chapter 8

"Bella you need to stop moving if you want me to paint them right." Alice said frustrated.

"Oh right, sorry." I told her holding still.

I closed my eyes and put a hand on my belly and focused on my breathing.

"_I'm over protective about the things I love." _

I had spent the whole car ride going over what he meant by that and had finally convinced myself that he was obviously talking about the baby specifically and not me _and _the baby. I mean that wouldn't make any sense if he meant me too.

I kept on going back and forth in my thoughts as I tried to lay still for Alice. Now what was on my mind was the whole idea of moving in.

Carlisle and Esme were two of the sweetest people I'd ever met. Right off the bat I knew they liked me and I was a hundred percent sure that Edward was right about them letting me stay in their home. Still, I felt so strange.

Charlie had always wanted me to be independent and be able to do things on my own. That's why he raised me the way he did. If I was being honest with myself I didn't think he'd approve of me moving in with Edwards family. Especially not Edward. We weren't married, we were barely friends. In some ways we barely knew each other. Oh that brought me back to the one thing I had been avoiding. Telling my dad I was pregnant.

"Bella!"

"Sorry Alice." I said softly. I squeezes my eyes shut and focus on not moving around.

What would Charlie say if he knew what was going on with me? How disappointed would he be that his only daughter had got knocked up by a complete stranger and currently was practically homeless? I couldn't even imagine. It wasn't helping either that I was avoiding telling him at all cost. He was a cop for crying out loud! In all the years I lived with him he never once used his gun, what if he decided trying it out on Edward was the perfect time.

"Is she asleep?" Edward asked softly.

My eyes flew open to find Edward leaning on the bed post watching me curiously.

"I wish, if she was she'd probably stop squirming around so much and let me finish faster." Alice said as she painted my toe a dusty rose color.

"Sorry Alice." I said again sitting up carefully so I didn't ruin her hard work.

"Hand please." Was all she said holding out her own.

I put my hand in hers trying not to upset her anymore.

"I think I found a place, Alice." Edward told her as he sat carefully on the bed knowing better than to mess Alice up as well.

"Oh really, is it close? Blow on these, Bella." Alice asked as she began to paint my other hand.

I did as I was told as I pretended to not be listening.

Edward didn't get a chance to answer before my phone's shrill ringtone rang making Alice jump.

"Sorry!" I said once again as she looked up at me angry.

"I know you are, you already said that ten times. Let me go see if my mom has nail polish remover. Don't mess up the rest of your nails or I'll redo them all again. Even the ones that look nice." She warned me as she quickly got up and left the room.

Not wanting to mess with Alice anymore I asked Edward to grab my phone for me.

"Uh, it's your dad." He said as he looked at the caller I.D.

"Oh, just put it on silent please."

"He hung-oh no wait he's dialing again. Maybe you should answer?" Edward suggested.

"Alice will kill me if I mess my nails up. Can you just put it on speaker?" I asked.

He nodded, quickly pressing the green answer button and putting it on speaker.

"Bella?"

"Hey dad, how are you?" I asked. I cleared my throat, suddenly feeling very nervous and aware that Edward was watching me.

"I'm good now that you answered. How are you doing bud, I've missed you. You used to call me a lot more often. You busy with work and school?" He asked. I smiled at the sound of his voice. I missed him so much.

"I've missed you too, dad. You wouldn't believe how much. I'm doing okay, just busy with work and school like you said. How are you?"

He began to tell me about his most recent fishing trip which had made his day with the amount of catch he had gotten and how work had been slower than usual.

It felt nice being able to talk to him especially since he couldn't physically see me. I don't think I would have lasted a minute before I broke.

He was just finishing up talking about how he had went to visit billy when he mentioned Jacob Black.

"So have you happen to see Billy's boy in that big city of yours?"

"Yes, actually I have. Wait-you already knew that didn't you?" I said to him, suspicious as to why he had brought him up.

"Caught me." He laughed.

"You and Billy gossip like old women. I just ran into him today a couple of hours ago and already the news has spread. It's ridiculous dad." I teased him.

"Well, Billy was excited that you two had finally met. You know you two are around the same age, live in the same city, are both single..." Oh no this could not be happening.

I felt my face turn red as I looked up at Edward who I had almost forgotten was in the room and quickly looked down completely embarrassed. Grabbing the phone quickly but carefully I walked towards the window and turned my back on Edward as I tried to take the phone off speaker.

Just my luck, my phone had froze.

"Dad! Please do not tell me you're trying to set me up with Jacob Black after I met him just today. Because I'm going to be pissed off that's the case." I told.

"Sorry Bell's. You know I couldn't resist. I'm not getting any younger here. You should start dating, I want you to get married, then have babies, in that order. I want to be a grandpa before I'm 80." He teased.

If the earth could only swallow me up whole right this instant.

"Dad. Can you please stop. Please. Or I'm hanging up." I threatened.

"I'm only teasing honey. Sort of." He chuckled.

"No but seriously Bella's are you okay? Billy mentioned that Jake said you seemed stress about something. I don't know he said something along those lines. You know you can talk to me about anything right? I know I tease you but, I still want to make sure you're okay."

I closed my eyes. "I'm good dad. Just stressed about school and work. Nothing else. Don't worry about me please."

"Alright sweetie." He said, but I don't think either of us sounded convinced.

I sighed as I thought of something I had been meaning to tell him.

"There is one thing." I said turning to look at Edward who had looked up to meet my glance.

"Yes Bella?"

"I don't think I'll be able to got home this year for Christmas and New Years. I wasn't able to get the days off this year." Technically I wasn't completely lying, I hadn't even requested the days. I was to scared to show up to Forks pregnant and have to tell my dad. Also flights were expensive, but that was just my next lame excuse I could use if this one didn't work.

"Oh man, Bella. That's a bummer. You've always gotten it off, why won't they give it to you now?" He asked disappointed.

I felt my throat tighten. "Um, the original owner died recently so things have been running different."

"Well maybe you can get another day off. I haven't seen you in so long honey. I miss you."

"I miss you too dad. I don't think I'll be able to though. Flights get cheaper after the holidays but I have school...I'll try to figure something out though." I lied again.

"Bells, why does it feel like you're just not wanting to visit your old man? I'm just teasing. It's alright kid, we'll figure something out." He said, trying to hide the sadness in his voice.

We talked a for a few more seconds before I told him I needed to go.

"Love you, Bell's" He told me.

"Love you too. Bye." I barley managed to get out. I felt like my throat was tight. I hated lying to my dad. Especially because I knew he knew something was up even though I said I was okay.

"So you and Jacob Black huh?" Edward said nonchalantly knowing that I wasn't in the biggest mood to talk about my dad.

I wasn't in the mood to talk about this either so I turned to glare at him ready to throw my phone at his face.

He looked amused, yet there was a tinge if something else in his eyes. Worry or jealousy? I couldn't be sure.

"Shut up. I'm not interested in Jacob Black. You sound just like my dad now. I just met him—it's nice knowing someone else from back home—that's it." I told him.

He just smiled and nodded. "Noted."

I sat back down on the bed wondering what was taking Alice so long.

"You know you're a terrible liar right?" Edward said quietly.

"I told you already I'm not interested in Jacob-''

"No, I'm talk what you told your dad. He obviously knew something was up."

I bit my lip and sighed. "I know. I just can't— I don't know what to tell him. Also, I was being serious about my work. Technically I didn't ask but they aren't giving anyone the days of. Also flights are expensive so there's that... and most importantly I don't want to disappoint him. And the longer I wait to face him the longer before I have to explain what's going on."

Edward looked at me thoughtfully. "I know but he's your dad. It's going to be worse if you tell him later. Imagine how he will feel when you show up months from now with a baby at his doorstep. It'll be harder to explain then and that's when I believe he'll be crushed."

"I know." I repeated biting my lip, a habit I had when I was nervous.

"If you want...if you think it'll be better...you can tell him we're together. I mean, it's better than saying we're complete strangers having a baby together." Edward suggested.

I felt myself turning red but with anger.

"Are you kidding me? I'd rather not be pretend girlfriend number two, thank you very much." I said annoyed he'd suggest that.

"That's not what I meant—"

"I'm going to go see what's taking Alice so long to find the damn nail polish remover." I cut him off before he could finish.

I got up quickly and left the room to find Alice.

"Hey Esme, did Alice get the a nail polish remover from you?" I asked as I walked into the living room pretending to be unbothered.

Esme put down the book she was reading, looking confused.

"She didn't even ask for it...she just left with Jasper. She said she was sorry about girls night but that you and Edward could watch a movie till she came back."

"Oh Alice." I said frustrated.

Alice had left me waiting for her at the party because she had been speaking to Jasper, a guy she had recently met. Though after she explained I didn't mind so much now that it had happen again the timing wasn't quite so great.

"She really likes this guy." Esme said softly.

"I know that. I'm sorry, I didn't want to seem rude. I just, right now I don't want to watch a movie." I told her.

"You don't want to watch a movie or you don't want to hang out with Edward?" She asked smiling softly at me.

"A little of both maybe?" I said sheepishly.

I sat down next to her messing with the fringe of one of the accent pillows on the couch.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked me.

I wrapped my arms around myself and sighed.

"This is hard. All of it. The baby, Edward being someone famous right now, his situation with Tanya. Everything going on with Jess. My dad, can you believe I haven't told my dad yet? Or my mom. But she's not really as scary as my dad. It's a lot and I just want to figure out a way to not feel like I'm suffocating." I said quietly trying not to cry.

"I understand sweetie. It's scary and I know you're scared. So is Edward. This is something that's going to change a lot of things and it's new to both of you. The added stress of everything else is making it more complicated than it has to be. But it'll be alright. You already know you don't have to worry about the whole Jessica situation. I already called a moving company to take all your things out of there and put them in storage for now. Anything that needs to be arrange with Jessica can pass through me so don't worry about that. I don't personally know your parents but from what I can tell they must be great since they did such a good job in raising you. I'm certain they'll be more than understanding about what's going on. The longer you wait though might make things worse if it being honest. I'd rather know now no matter what than last minute. As for the thing with Edward and Tanya, I don't like it either. But I understand that that's part of his job and what he signed up for. He has to abide by the rules so to speak. I know he'd preferred it were different but it is what it is." Esme grabbed my hands gently squeezing them.

I felt comforted for the first time in forever. Me and my mom weren't really close, if anything I was closest to my father. She was more childlike than him so I never felt as close to her. Charlie wasn't one to give advice often, and when it came to the situations I was in now, having a motherly figure to speak to was so reassuring that everything would eventually be okay.

"Thank you Esme. You don't know how much your words mean to me. I have to go apologize to Edward now." I told her blushing.

She was right, this whole fake relationship was something that was out of his hands. It was part of his work so I had to be more understanding. My hormones were a bit at fault as well but I knew I overreacted too.

"Yes of course, if you need anything else, you know where to find me." She said as she picked up her book.

I headed back up the stairs and straight into Alice's room but he wasn't in there anymore. I walked towards his room and knocked on the door.

"Come in." His voice called out.

I opened the door and timidly walked over to the bed and sat down. Edward was laying face up with his arms behind his head. He had his eyes closed but looked stressed out. I hated to think that I was the cause of that.

"Hey Edward, I um... I wanted to apologize for the way I reacted earlier. Or should I say over reacted." I bit my lip as I waited for him to open his eyes but nothing happened so I continued.

"I just- I don't know. Is jealous a good word to use? Or maybe offended. I don't know my emotions are everywhere honestly. I just felt weird with the suggestion at first. If I'm being honest, I don't like Tanya, I don't care if she's beautiful and famous. I am not a fan of her. And the idea of being a fake something to you really bothered me. But I've thought about it and I'm the one who's a complete ass after you tried to help. I know I need to understand that this is part of your job. Does this make any sense? I'm rambling now." I quickly said.

I looked back down at Edward and saw him trying not to smile. "Jealous?"

I rolled my eyes and smiled back. " I was just trying to find a word and that one wasn't completely it."

He grinned at me me and closed his eyes again. If I could read minds, this is when I would like to know what was going through his head.

I nudged him on the arm with my finger gently. "Anyways. I'm sorry for over reacting. I truly am and if your offer still stands, I'd like to take you up on it. Will you be my pretend boyfriend? Just for my dads sake? If he asks so I can have something better than "I'm your single, pregnant, homeless daughter?"

Now it was his turn to roll his eyes. He sat up and grabbed my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Bellas, you're not homeless. We've all made that crystal clear. Pregnant, you are but single you aren't. You have a pretend boyfriend now, remember?" He said with a wink.


	9. Chapter Nine

**AN Hey guys, enjoy this chapter! Don't forget to REVIEW FAVORITE AND FOLLOW please if you're enjoying! I hope everyone is staying safe and at home unless it is necessary to be out. For those that actually read this little note, leave your review with a smile :) so I can PM you about a idea that has been rolling around in my head for a while now that will give y'all something more.. visual. I'd love to read my readers responses! Thank you for reading. Ya'll don't know how much I appreciate you all.**

Chapter 9

"What made you get into acting?" I asked Edward as he sat down with our second bag of popcorn.

We had just finished watching Roman Holiday which was one of my favorite movies and it was Edward's turn to choose but I didn't think I could spend another second with this man alone in the dark.

On all my favorite moments of the movie, the ones that made my heart full of soapy love, I would look at Edward in my peripheral and try my hardest not to grab him and kiss him. My hormones were getting the better of me.

When the movie ended and he offered to get another bag before we continued with his favorite, I quickly said yes which made him laugh. I wasn't really in the mood for more popcorn (nah, who was I kidding, I was _always_ in the mood for more food now so I'd surely eat all of it again) but I needed a moment to get my crap together.

There were always moments like these that I couldn't believe I, Bella freakin Swan was having a baby with this beautiful famous man. I knew I sounded so ridiculous but in reality I wouldn't even believe me if I told myself the story. The worst part of this was how my feelings for him were growing faster than the little peanut inside me.

I knew that if I didn't do something, I would only end up getting hurt and I'd have no one to blame but myself.

Sitting up, I grabbed the bag of popcorn and popped a few in my mouth, encouraging him to go ahead and tell me the story.

He smiled, turned the TV off and put the remote down, which was perfect since at the moment I was a hundred percent sure I couldn't handle another hour and a half alone in the dark with him.

"Hmm where do I begin? Remember my whole prodigy kid story? Well, it was always my dream to get into Juilliard. Music has always been a huge part of my life, so Juilliard always my dream school. My parents have always wanted me to pursue whatever I want, so I applied, did my auditions and got in. Did I mention I'm also very smart, education wise?"

"No you did not. Hopefully the baby inherits that." I said smiling.

He grinned. "Ah, yes, hopefully. Well, I was on my way to getting my Artist diploma or my Masters, I wasn't sure which, I was thinking of just going directly for my Doctorate at this point, when my roommate Seth who was studying to become a playwright was writing a solo performance for a class and had asked if I could help him out by performing it."

"Why he asked me, I don't know. But I got the script, learned the lines over the weekend and the following Monday we asked for permission to use one of the stages and I performed for him while he made edits to his script. It was seriously fun. I had never given acting a chance, my sole focus always being music, but then performing on a stage without a piano, using just as much passion...It was just as amazing."

"Coincidently, a casting director was visiting a professor at school and saw me perform. It was my first time ever doing something like this and I let her know that, yet she gave me her card, made _me_ give her my number in case I forgot to call her and then changed my life after that day. That was all close to two years ago, and I don't regret anything since." Edward finished.

"Wow. It's things like that that make me believe in fate. I saw the movie while you were gone by the way. You're really talented, it shows with everything you do." I told him.

"Thank you Bella, that means a lot. Also I know what you mean, I didn't believe in fate before, but a lot of things have happened to make me believe in it now."

I bit my lip as I thought about asking my question. Edward noticed and raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to speak.

"One day, I'd like to hear you play, if you don't mind." I told him.

He got up and held his hand out to help me up.

I grabbed it and quickly let go once quickly I stood up, having felt a shock pass through our fingers.

"You don't have to wait even one more second, come on." He said with a grin.

I followed him a bit confused as to where we were going. The house, though magnificently beautiful, wasn't the biggest and I was pretty sure I had seen all of it.

As we headed downstairs, we walked in the direction of the kitchen, through a hallway I hadn't noticed before, and into a small hexagonal room with a beautiful black grand piano.

Without saying a word, Edward sat down on the piano bench and motioned for me to join him.

As I sat down, he took a deep breath, closed his and began to play.

I recognized the song almost immediately. It was my favorite.

I watched Edward play, I watched the way his hands moved over the keys, the way he kept his eyes close, yet you knew he felt the music within him. The way he made it look so effortless…

It was beautiful.

"Clair De Lune is my favorite piece of Debussy's." I said quietly as he played the final notes.

He looked up at me surprised. "You listen to Debussy?"

"Well, not all his work, just this one really."

"It's my favorite too." He said quietly.

I smiled and put a hand on my belly where my little peanut grew.

"I love how passionate you are about everything you do. I hope this little one gets all those qualities. I don't have much to add, except what, my clumsiness?" I said laughing a little.

"Yeah, I'm coming up blank, I hope he or she is every bit like you." I continued.

It was quiet again so I gently ran my finger along the keys.

"Bella?" Edward said, breaking the silence.

"Hm?" I said

"You really do not see yourself clearly." He said.

I was about to argue, when we both heard a high pitch voice coming from the hallway.

"Okay, I am back and ready to steal Bella back!" Alice said as she walked into the piano room with a huge grin.

"Did you find end up finding the nail polish remover Alice?" I asked Alice, sarcastically, staring down at her empty hands.

She blushed a little and laughed. "I didn't need it in the end, your nails look perfect. Now come on, I have so much to tell you!"

I stayed sitting down, not really wanting to leave. Sighing though, I stood up and yawned.

"Goodnight Edward, thank you for playing." I said with a small smile.

"Anytime, goodnight Bella. Alice." He said nodding in her direction.

He didn't get up from the piano though, and as we walked away he continued playing a new piece I hadn't heard before.

"Bella, I think I might be in love. Like, in _love_ love." Alice said as she closed her door.

She lay down and covered her head with a pillow and squealed. I laughed and sat down next to her brushing my fingers through her hair.

"Why do you say that?" I asked her when she finally uncovered her face.

Grabbing her phone, she unlocked it and handed it to me.

I read the title of the websites article and rolled my eyes.

**11 Signs That You're Falling in Love, According to Science**

"Alice, you can't believe everything on the inter-''

"Just read them to me Bella."

"I don't- ugh oh alright, number one, 'You can't stop staring at them.'" I was glad Alice couldn't see me because I could feel my cheeks turning pink as I realized I could apply the first one to me.

With her eyes still closed, she made a check in the air and motioned for me to continue.

"Two, 'you've been stressed lately.'" Definitely a yes. Oh and a yes for Alice as well.

"Um, three, 'you always think about them.'" Mental check for me, another check in the air for Alice.

Again, I was glad Alice couldn't see my reaction, because at this point it was pretty obvious what my feelings for her brother were.

* * *

I turned to the side and opened my eyes. Alice wasn't in bed anymore which I thought was strange. We had fallen asleep pretty late, with Alice telling me all about Jasper and how much she liked him.

It was honestly sweet, and I was happy for Alice. In my short time of knowing her, I felt like she was more of a sister than friend. Seeing the way happiness radiated off of her was enough for me to like Jasper too.

Sitting up, I looked at the time and was embarrassed by how late it was. Quickly jumping out of bed, I grabbed a change of clothes from my backpack I had brought to the sleepover and headed into the shower.

After my shower I brushed my teeth, brushed my hair and put my clothes and shoes on and walked back to Alice's room.

Walking in, I smiled yet quickly stopped in my tracks by the looks on Edward and Alices faces.

"What happened?" I asked worried.

Edward turned to look at me and spoke first. "We got a call from the movers my mom had hired to pick up all your things, they said the apartment was empty but that your room was a mess. They thought someone had robbed the place but, it didn't make sense since it was only your room. We think Jessica might have-''

"Is it bad?" I asked, knowing already who was to blame and that whatever had happened in there was bad.

They both nodded.

"Can you drop me off please, I need to see…" I said not wanting to finish my sentence with 'what's salvageable'

"Of course." Edward said.

"I'll go talk to Mom and see what we can do about this." Alice said as she quickly kissed my cheek and headed downstairs past us.

It was chilly outside, you could almost feel the extremely cold weather coming.

I shivered and like if I had asked, Edward handed me his coat.

"No, it's alright, I'll grab a jacket from the apartment."

"We're still here, let me go get another one, you borrow this one." Edward said putting it over my shoulders and heading back upstairs.

I noticed how he ignored my comment about grabbing a jacket from my place and it made me nervous. How bad could it be?

I almost bit my lip off with how nervous I was durning the car ride. When Edward finally came to a stop, I took my seatbelt off and turned to look at him confused as he did the same.

"You don't have to come with me. I'll be okay. I can call you later." I said giving him a small smile.

"Yeah, I'm not leaving you alone. Especially not if she comes back." He quickly walked around the car and opened the door for me.

I stayed quiet the whole walk to the apartment still completely nervous and scared.

As I walked into the apartment using the key the movers had been asked to leave under the mat, I noticed how warm it felt, like a fire had been recently burning in the fireplace. Walking into my room, I gasped at the mess I found.

Right off the bat, the smell of bleach stung my nose. All my clothes were laying on top of my bed covered in bleach. I got closer and saw that not only that, but Jessica had cut all the clothes as well.

I didn't have much, just clothes school stuff and my books…which _weren't_ in my room. This was way too far. She was completely crazy.

"The movers found the apartment empty and the fireplace burning so they stopped because it was a fire hazard but they found all of your books burning in there…" Edward told me quietly.

I didn't know if it was the smell of bleach or just the morning sickness but I felt sick. Running to the restroom, I threw up into the toilet.

I knew Edward had followed me in because I could feel his cool hands holding my hair back and away from my face.

I stood up and rinsed my mouth out in the sink. Looking in the mirror, I brushed away the tear that fell down my eye.

"I never did anything bad to her. I don't understand why she did this. I thought she was my friend. My best friend. Yet she did this over what exactly?" I said as more tears started to stream down my face.

I wasn't a materialistic person by any means. Yet, seeing everything I had worked for, a lot of the things that were my favorites or had special meanings destroyed broke my extra emotional heart.

We left after thirty minutes of trying to find something salvageable. There wasn't much, other than my three pieces of furniture, two pairs of shoes, a t-shirt, and my battered up copy of Pride and Prejudice. Even my laptop I had used for school was completely destroyed.

"We're going to talk to my lawyer and see what we can do about this." Edward said as he drove away from the apartment.

"I don't want to sue…I can't afford to sue and I don't want to see her face in a courtroom." I grumbled as I help on to a box of my few possessions.

"Bella, you're being ridiculous, she destroyed practically all of your things. WE are going to sue." Edward said annoyed.

"No, WE are not. Jessica isn't stupid. She knows I'm pregnant and after yesterday, she more than likely knows it's yours. This was her revenge for something I don't completely understand. Let that be it. I know what she's capable of, she would have already said something about the baby by this point but hasn't. If we sue her, we will only add more fuel to the fire and rumors will start and your reputation will be messed up and everything you've worked for can be ruined by an alleged cheating scandal. I don't want to be a part of that. I don't want her money either. I just want to be done with her. So please, drop it." I said.

Edward signed. "I hate this whole thing with Tanya. I'm done. I don't want to do it anymore."

"I hate how it's made things so complicated too. But Edward, it's part of your job. We all have to do things we don't like sometimes." I told him gently.

"I know, I know. I won't do anything then." He responded, yet I turned to look at him because there seemed to be a double meaning in his voice.

"How opposed is Alice to thrift shopping?" I said trying to change the topic.

Edward half smiled. "You'll be surprised, she loves fashion of all kinds so you can catch her in them once in a while, especially for vintage pieces. Why?"

"That's true. Um, I wanted to go get a couple of pairs of pants and shirts since I only brought two changes in my backpack for Alice's sleepover. Oh I also need a jacket or two. The colder weather is right around the corner and I can't keep on borrowing your things." I said to him.

"You know I don't mind. Also, I told them you'd most likely be against it, but Alice and my mom said for you not to worry about any of your things because they'd be giving you an early Christmas present. Oh and my mom said you have to accept it because then she'll be sad. Alice too." He said trying not to laugh.

"That's too much. I-I can't…They shouldn't." I said flabbergasted.

"I told them you'd say that."

"Did you tell them I'd say no thank you?"

"Yep. That's why they added the 'they'll be sad part'. Sorry Bella, my dad, Emmett and me have never won against them. I don't think you'll start winning now. Woah, wait are you okay?" Edward asked.

I felt the car come to a stop and suddenly Edwards hands were holding my face as the tears poured down it.

"I-I-I'm s-s-sorry, it's the h-hormones." I said through the sobs. Edward held my face as I tried to calm down. All the things about your emotions being out of control during pregnancy I never believed until now.

"Why is it that that whenever something horrible is happening to me, you or your family are always there to save the day? I don't get it and I don't deserve it." I said, crying again.

"Bella, they do it because they love and care about you. _We_ love and care about you. In the short time you and our little baby have been in our life you've made a huge impact. This might be much to you but this is how things work. Welcome to the family."

I unbuckled my seatbelt and leaned over to hug Edward.

He seemed to hesitate, being taken by surprised but hugged me tightly back.

"Thank you." I whispered into his shoulder knowing it wasn't enough, but I genuinely believed for Edward and his family it was.


	10. Chapter Ten

*AN. Please don't forget to **REVIEW, FAVORITE and FOLLOW!** Each review is immensely appreciated. Thank you guys for reading. Y'all are what motivate me to continue writing!*

Chapter 10

"Good morning, I made breakfast." I said as Edward walked into our, well his new kitchen.

It had been two days since we had moved into this perfect little apartment. It was a two bedroom, two and a half bath in Greenwich Village. It was in a historical building, so they kept a lot of the old finishes like the hardwood floors, the crown molding, and the detail around the fireplace while making modern updates to the kitchen and bathrooms.

It was incredibly beautiful and something I never imagined myself living in. I knew the rent was something that I could never afford to go half with but I still offered to help with something. Yet, as usual Edward refused.

I though it was only fair that I at least help out with _something. _So I decided I would start cooking for us. Genuinely I enjoyed cooking in such a beautiful kitchen. It took some figuring out what all the buttons and knobs were for but I got the hang of it quickly.

"Morning, thank you Bella, its smells great. Did you already eat?" He asked as he served himself some eggs and I put pancakes on his plate.

"Yes I did, I was just really waiting on you to get up, I have to work today. Did you want something to drink by the way?" I said as I put the last dish in the dishwasher and closed the door.

"I'll get it don't worry. You work today?" He said sounding surprised.

"Yeah, I wasn't supposed to go in till Thursday but Angela got a stomach bug and they asked me to come in for her. I'm going in at 9:45 which reminds me, I should probably get going." I said as I looked at the time.

"Oh, I can drop you off, let me just get changed." Edward said quickly standing up.

"No it's alright, you stay and eat, I'm taking the subway. I've missed riding." I said as I grabbed my bag from the counter.

"Need anything else?" I said as I put my coat over my all black outfit.

Esme and Alice had kindly 'surprised' me with a closet filled to the brim with new clothes. Alice knew my exact size in everything and had gotten me a variety of all kinds of things. They had kept it simple though, Alice knowing already what I liked.

I was able to find the black sweater, jeans and matching black shoes in less than a minute in the huge closet. My work uniform had been a casualty in the whole Jessica situation so this was acceptable for work attire.

"Bella, you're not a maid. If I need anything I can get it myself don't worry. Be safe, and call me please if you need anything, I'll be there right away." He said.

I laughed a little embarrassed. "Right, sorry. I will, see you later."

Taking the elevator down, I said goodbye to Benjamin the doorman as I headed out into the light snow.

I had already planned ahead and figured out my route so I got to work with plenty of time to spare. Thankfully, Ronnie wasn't at work and wouldn't be checking in since he had gone on vacation for Christmas.

I was two hours into my shift when a familiar voice called my name.

"Bella?"

"Jake? Hey what are you doing here?" I said smiling at him a bit surprised at seeing him.

He grinned at me as he took a seat in a booth. There was something about him that was so warm and _happy_. I loved it, it made me feel warm even as another customer opened the door and a cool breeze entered the diner.

"Come on Bells, I'm here because I'm hungry obviously and I wanted to see the pretty waitresses too." He said winking.

I rolled my eyes. "Well sorry to disappoint, all the pretty waitresses called in sick today. You're stuck with me."

"Even better. How have you been?" He asked as I gave him a menu.

I ignored his comment. I really liked Jake, but the flirting was going to have to stop.

"I've been good. I _am_ mad at you though. How long after we spoke did you tell your dad you saw me? He went and called my dad and told him all about it. It was embarrassing. What did you want to drink by the way?" I said as I remembered the conversation.

"Coffee is fine. Um, if I'm honest, the second you left the car. What did Charlie say?" He asked grinning again.

I turned red. "Let me go get your coffee."

Returning with a coffee mug and pot as well as sugar and creamers, I set them down and took out my guest check book and waited for him to tell me what he wanted.

"So, what did Charlie say?" He asked again.

"You're not going to order until I tell you are you?" I asked fake annoyed.

"Nope." He said.

"Ugh fine, he tried to act like if Billy and him hadn't been talking before and him mentioning you was totally casual. It was obvious they had been speaking though so I called him out. Then he confessed and went on this whole rant about him 'not getting any younger' and 'wanting grandkids before he's old' and it only got worse because he mentioned us meeting and being in the same city and around the same age. You know where he was going with that right? It was so embarrassing. I almost died then and there especially because E- my friend heard the whole thing." I said turning red but laughing about it. I looked around the empty diner to make sure there wasn't any guest being left unattended.

He laughed. "Oh man I'm sorry. How did he take it when you told him that you were pregnant?"

"Oh, uh, I didn't get that far." I said blushing harder now.

He looked at me surprised. "Bella, are you serious, you had the perfect opportunity to tell him. Now it's going to be more of a shocker when…"

He didn't finish his sentence, instead taking another sip of his coffee.

"Shocker when what, Jacob?" I asked confused.

"When… he sees you all knocked up." He said sort of struggling for words.

"Well, that won't be for a while. I'm not going to Forks. I told him I couldn't go for Christmas this year. So it'll be a while before I see him again." I told him.

His eyes widened as he shook his head and he took another sip of coffee. "Oh man, Bella oh man."

"Oh man what?" I said getting a bit annoyed. It seemed like if he was keeping something from me but I didn't understand what.

Jacob looked thoughtful as he took _another_ sip of his coffee and then in all seriousness said, "Would it be such a bad thing?"

"Okay, you're confusing me. Would _what_ be such a bad thing?" I asked frustrated.

"Us being together?" He asked cooly.

I stared at him blankly before laughing.

"What's so funny?" He asked sounding a bit hurt. He could not be serious!

"Sorry, I'm just imagining Charlie chasing you around with a gun because he thinks you got his daughter pregnant. You're being funny, yet ridiculous. I already told you I'm not interested Jacob. Now what do you want to order?" I asked still giggling.

He frowned. "Not yet, but there's hope."

I frowned back.

"No. No there's not. I'm going to get you more coffee." I said grabbing the less than half filled coffee pot. I needed an excuse to leave the uncomfortable situation I was in.

I liked Jacob. I liked him a lot, but not in that way at all.

Because I was distracted by my thoughts, I didn't notice the chair that had been left pushed out by a customer. In the horribly typical Bella fashion, I somehow managed to trip over the chair.

Almost as if I was watching a movie in slow motion, the coffee pot flew out of my hands and out of instinct I put one arm out in front of me and the other around my stomach. As my hand touched the floor I heard a crack and knew something had broke.

As everything started to speed back to normal, my first thoughts were the baby. I didn't feel any pain in my belly though and what had received the impact was my hand and my knees.

Then I started hearing the voices, the loudest being Jacob.

"Bella, oh my gosh, are you okay?" He asked as he knelt by me.

Tina, the other waitress that was working with me as well as one of the cooks named Mark, came to check if I was okay.

"I'm fine, did I burn anyone with the coffee pot?" I asked as I turned around and sat down on the floor.

"No sweetie, there's no customers and I wasn't close enough to even get a splash. Are you okay Honey?" Tina asked worried.

"I'm fi- OW!" I screamed. I had tried to stand up by using my left hand to grab on to the damn chair that had caused all of this but I couldn't even lift it because of the pain. As I looked at it, I could tell it was already swelling.

"I think it's broken Bella Honey." Tina said.

"Yeah I think so too. Come on Bells, I'll take you to the doctor." Jake said still on the floor next to me.

"No, let me get my phone, I'll call Edw-''

"Oh yes let us call him, and cause a bigger scene Bella, you'll just love that." He said sarcastically.

I turned red. Jacob hardly knew me yet he understood my situation with Edward.

I didn't even argue, he was right, if I called Edward, he'd freak out and come rushing over. Then people could see him, take photos, make a scene…my best bet was having Jake drive me to see a doctor.

"Okay fine. Will you guys be okay Tina, if I go? I can stay…" I asked as I got up by myself, pretending I didn't notice Jake's hand he held out. I didn't want him getting any ideas.

"Oh honey, we will be fine, you go get your hand fixed." She said as a customer came in.

I eyed the coffee on the floor and was contemplating on getting the mop and giving it a quick once over but Mark was already on it.

"I've got this Bella, don't worry." He said.

"Thank you guys, I'm sorry." I told them as I walked out of the diner and into the cold streets.

Thankfully Jacob had parked right infant of the diner so I didn't have to walk far in the cold.

He was on the phone, speaking with someone. Quickly hanging up he merged into traffic.

"I called my Aunt Miriam, she said that she will ask Dr. Cullen if he's not busy so that he can see you for your hand and if you want her to check if the baby is doing good she can too but she is busy so you might have to wait." He said.

We weren't far from the hospital, thank goodness. The pain in my hand was starting to be unbearable.

"Okay that's fine. Thank you." I said closing my eyes.

"Hey Bella?"

"What?" I asked annoyed. If he was going to go on with our conversation from before I was going to punch him. My left hand was broken, not my right. Charlie had taught me how punch when I was six.

"You're a klutz. Jesus, I can't believe I witnessed that. If a camera caught that can you send it to me, Ms. Brittle bones?" He asked.

I tried my hardest not to laugh even though I was still annoyed. This is what I liked about Jacob.

—-

"Okay, on the count of three I'm going to pull and realign the bones. Are you ready?"

I nodded, not wanting to open my eyes.

"Okay, one, two, come in." Carlisle said to the person knocking on the door.

I sighed and opened my eyes. It was Edward at the door.

I was about to say something when I noticed his eyes immediately land on Jacob who was sitting in the chair next to me.

"Jacob." Edward said curtly.

"Edward." Jake responded cooly.

I felt myself tense up with the way the atmosphere had completely changed. Carlisle looked up at me and then at the two men having a stare down and cleared his throat.

"I can only have one other person in the room bedsides me and the patient." He said using his professional doctor voice.

"I'll go. Good luck with the bone re-breaking Bells, it looks like it is going to hurt like hell. Call me when you can so we can hang out. Oh, and say 'hi' to Charlie for me." He said as he quickly got up.

"Bye Jake, I will." I said to him not really paying attention to him.

He walked out, closing the door behind him.

Two seconds later, Edward relaxed and walked over to me.

"Okay, where were we. One, two-.''

"OW!" I yelled as he pulled my hand back to place before he counted to three.

"Sorry Bella, I knew you were expecting it. It hurts less when you aren't." He said with a small smile.

"Nope, I think it hurts the same Carlisle. Thank you though." I said clenching my teeth. I felt like throwing up because of the pain.

"You're welcome. Now, sit tight, I'll be right back, it's swelled up quite a bit so I'll have to do a splint for now." Carlisle said.

I nodded as he left the room, leaving Edward and me alone.

"I thought you were working." Edward said. He sounded a bit annoyed.

I turned to look at him confused. "I was. Why would I lie about that?"

"So Jacob, visits you at work now?" He asked ignoring my question.

"This was the first time he has, but he's my friend. Our parents know each other. He can visit me if he wants as can anyone else. Is there a problem with that?" I asked getting annoyed. I was in pain, I wasn't in the mood to be treated like a child.

"Why didn't you call me? Why did it take my dad calling my mom and then her telling me to find out that you had hurt yourself and possibly the baby?" He asked.

I sat up, now even more upset. "I left my stuff at work since I was in a hurry to get my hand fixed. Also imagine what would have happened if you'd showed up at my work and people saw that. Carlisle was speaking to Esme when I got to his office and said you were with her so I asked if he could tell her what was going on, so she could tell you. What the hell is your problem, Edward?"

"My problem is that you're pregnant with our baby, Bella. If your hurt yourself, I should be one of the first to know instead of the last and be _here_, not Jacob Black who clearly has feelings for you and you're leading on." He said angrily.

"What- Are you kidding me? I'm not leading anyone on. I don't even understand! What do Jacob Blacks feeling have to do with anything?"

"You're pregnant! Is it not obvious? Can't you see how messed up everything is?"

"I'm not an idiot! I know I'm pregnant. But that's it. There's nothing more going on between me and you Edward. At. All. And there's obviously nothing going on between me and Jacob Black either. But I don't get why it should matter to you. I can date or do whatever the hell I want, I am not in a relationship _with_ you. I am in pain right now and worried that I could have possibly hurt the baby in some way. I don't need you to be treating me like I'm three Edward, because I'm not. You're over here talking about how messed up everything is, this, this right here is the only thing I see as 'messed up'. Now I would appreciate it if you'd _back off_. Before we both say things we end up regretting." I told him. I was shaking. I was so angry tears had started streaming down my face without my permission.

"It's too late for that." He mumbled, not turning to look at me as Carlisle came back in.

"Sorry for taking so long, I couldn't find the right splint. Here, take a tissue. I know the pain is bad, you can take some ibuprofen. It might help. The good thing is that it was a clean break Bella, so you won't be needing surgery if…."

_The good thing is that it was a clean break. _

That could be applied to two situations at the moment it seemed.


End file.
